Season 2 Saiyan Blood
by DBZROCKS10
Summary: The Z-warriors had begun their journey to Planet Namek in hopes of reviving all of their lost friends with the Namekian DragonBalls, but neither one of them knows what kinds of challenges lie ahead of them. Will they be able to survive or end up falling into the hands of new and old enemies?
1. The Invisible Ship

Episode 46

The Invisible Ship

 **Author's Note: Well, here it is: Season 2 Saiyan Blood! Thank you so much for your votes. Even though I didn't quite get the exact number I wanted, I know all of you would love to see a sequel. Also, most of you voted that I should update my Saiyan Blood series whenever I have free time, so thanks for your understanding. We all know how busy we can get, but I'll try my best to update this story a little bit faster than usual.**

 **Please remember to leave only helpful and positive feedback. Any rude or disrespectful reviews will _not_ be tolerated and they will be immediately deleted and/or reported. Thanks in advance!**

 **Like Season 1, this is a completely revised and a complete remake of Season 2 Saiyan Blood, so I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Thanks for all of your support! Happy reading!**

Some days had passed, the Z-fighters continued their journey to Namek in hopes of restoring their friends with the DragonBalls. Today was just another day in the ship. The universe itself was almost complete darkness every day, it took time for their circadian rhythms to get back to normal.

Raditz was sharing a bedroom with Gohan, Bardock with Krillin while Bulma had her own.

Raditz was sleeping by himself. He had pillows on his head and underneath his arms with his blanket over his abdomen, just exposing his torso. This was the first time in a long time he had a good night's rest. He and his father had done nothing but serious training for the past week, but he knew all this hard work will pay off in the end.

He then rolled over to his side and kept sleeping peacefully-

 _SLAM!_

Bulma suddenly opened the door, hitting the wall with it, startling Raditz from his long slumber.

"Wha-what?!" Raditz exclaimed and sat up quickly. He was still half-asleep, half-startled obviously. At first, he thought that the ship was malfunctioning, but it was actually Bulma who caused that annoying racket. He growled at her for bothering him. "What are you doing? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?!"

"You've been sleeping for eleven hours now," Bulma told him. "We still have a lot of chores to do."

"Chores?" Raditz tried to keep his eyes opened.

"You know the rules," Bulma crossed her arms.

Raditz pulled the blankets over him. "Just give me five more minutes…"

Bulma raised her eyebrow. "Hmph, fine, if that's what you want. By that time though, you'll be missing out on breakfast."

Lo and behold, the magic words were spoken. Raditz's eyes shot open and he could now smell this trail of delicious scent underneath his nose. It took just the mention of food to have him wake up. He finally got out of bed, pulling the blankets away from him. "Okay, I'm up."

Bulma chuckled, knowing how Saiyans cannot resist food. This reminded her about Goku when he was a young. He had a very voracious appetite, maybe even now.

During breakfast, Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan watched Bardock and Raditz with amazement and the number of plates they could eat in one sitting. Unlike Goku who seriously lacked table manners, Bardock and Raditz _did_ have these, but the three had the same appetites, their plates were already stacking up in a pile.

"H-hey, you guys can't eat too much!" Bulma told him. "You're gonna deplete all our food supply!"

"Don't worry, Bulma," Gohan assured her. "We packed extra, extra food in the storage room. We all know how hungry my uncle and grandpa get."

Krillin commented, "It's amazing how they're not blowing up like balloons."

While the three waited for Bardock and Raditz to stuff themselves eventually, they talked for a while.

"I wonder what Namek looks like," Gohan began.

"Don't think it's all gonna be flora and fauna," Bulma said. "Do you remember what King Kai told us? The planet's going through changes still."

"But I'm sure we'll see something interesting!" Gohan thought.

"Huh, maybe," Bulma finished the rest of her orange juice. She then placed her hand over her mouth as she yawned. "Ooh! I'm just ready to collect the DragonBalls. I wonder what Namek's dragon will look like."

Krillin stood up, taking up his plate and silverware to the sink for cleaning. "Who knows? Namek _is_ the place where the DragonBalls are first created. Maybe they could have special powers unlike our dragon back on Earth. I just had this crazy imagination that each DragonBall has a dragon inside and then when we make a wish, they all come out or something like that, hah, hah!"

Bulma placed a hand against her cheek. "Yes, you do have a crazy imagination, Krillin. I mean, seven dragons? I bet not all of them are gonna be nice." ( **Epic foreshadowing** )

Bardock and Raditz had finally finished their breakfast. They cleaned up afterwards and started on their chores before heading back to training.

"It'll be good to clean up that mess over there," Bulma pointed to where the pilot seat was.

Krillin looked over there. "Um, isn't that your mess? You should clean yours 'cause we already cleaned ourselves. Besides, half of the mess in this ship is yours!"

"Too busy being the captain of this ship, you know! And you know what that means? I got important work to do," Bulma argued with him. "Just clean it up, it's not that hard. If you don't, you guys will be cooking your dinner instead," she then grabbed a can of root beer she left on the floor and drank from it. She then went ahead to clean the dishes in the kitchen at least.

Krillin rolled his eyes. "Geez, all she really does is cook and clean the dishes."

While Raditz, Krillin, and Gohan cleaned up the mess on the floor, Bardock was in the kitchen with Bulma, helping her dry the plates and silverware.

Bulma was at her last plate and gave it to him. "Here."

Bardock took it and dried it with a towel.

"So, tell me, Bardock," Bulma washed her hands briefly with soap and water. "Why do you and Goku look so much alike? I mean, anyone can practically mistake you for twins!"

Bardock agreed. "Yeah, many have made that mistake. I don't know…he mostly got his genes from me, but Raditz got his from his mother. Well, appearance-wise."

"Oh," Bulma said. She turned off the faucet and drank from her root beer again.

While Bardock kept drying the plate, a vision suddenly appeared in his mind. He was distracted from his thoughts, but he tried to act normal. In this vision, he saw a sinister-looking creature that had these orange-colored gems sitting in front of him, the creature's red eyes fascinated by these gleaming orbs.

"-as you can tell, I mostly got my looks from my mom, but my brains from my dad," Bulma was having a conversation with him all this time. She noticed though that he was not responding and that he was gripping on the plate tightly than he should. He seemed to be struggling for some reason.

"Huh? Hey, you okay?" she asked.

The vision finally passed. Bardock realized he was still standing here, finishing chores. It took a moment for him to answer. "…y-yeah, I just…had a slight headache, that's all."

"Hmm, maybe you should take a break from training then," Bulma suggested. "You and Raditz are already strong enough! Why train even more?"

Bardock put the last plate on the shelf and closed the cupboard. In silence again, he stared at the blank, empty wall in front of him while putting his head down.

He did not say a word.

Bulma found this behavior to be quite strange. "Uh, hello? Earth to Bardock!"

His vision was fixed on the wall, his hands gripped on the countertop. He finally answered, "We just…have to…," the vision he received, he thought, foreshadowed a terrible omen, and he did not like the feel of it.

Raditz was mopping the floor while Gohan and Krillin were cleaning up Bulma's mess in a trash bag.

Raditz had cleaned the last inch of the surface. He had a bucket of water beside him, was about to pick it up until Bulma suddenly walked in and knocked the bucket to the side by accident, spilling all the water.

"Hey!" Raditz became aggravated.

Bulma was still drinking her root beer, but she did not bother to help him out. "Ooh! Geez, Raditz, watch where you put that thing."

"You're the one who hit it!" Raditz pointed at the bucket. "I suggest you come over here and help me clean this now."

"Don't have time! Can't you see I'm busy doing some work?" she went back to her seat and pressed a few buttons on the controls, the screen showing their current location and the overall status of their ship. "I still need to calculate a few things here. After all, I'm still the pilot of this ship."

Raditz's eyebrow twitched and his temperature was almost up to his head, but somehow, he was able to keep his temper in check. There was no use trying to argue with her. He went to the back door and grabbed some paper towels to dry the spilled mop water.

Krillin noticed the tension between them and tried to calm things down. "Just forget about it, Raditz. It's not worth it. You wouldn't want to get on her bad side."

"She just needs to do her equal share of work around here," Raditz demanded.

"I'll go try and talk to her, okay?" Krillin said.

There was silence and soon, everything was calm again. While Bulma continued to make her monitor the functions of the ship, she asked them all a question. "So, about Vegeta…"

They turned their attention towards her when she spoke the name of the Saiyan Prince.

"You said you let him get away. Where do you think he could've gone? I thought the Saiyans' home planet was destroyed a long time ago, so he must have a new home at least," Bulma mentioned.

"Oh," Gohan realized what she might be trying to ask. "I think I know what you're thinking. Since Vegeta was badly injured when we fought him, he should've retreated to some other planet where his wounds can be taken care of."

"Well, I certainly couldn't tell you where he is," Krillin had no clue.

"Raditz, you're once Vegeta's comrade after all," Bulma looked at him. "You guys should've had a place to live in before you guys came to Earth."

Raditz was putting away all the cleaning products in the back door. "You're right, but if you remember, I used to travel from one planet to another to conquer and sell them to the galactic markets. You could say all those planets belong to ours, so Vegeta could've gone to any one of those."

"I hope he's not planning to go to Namek. He can't possibly go, not with his current condition," Krillin believed.

"I don't know. Well, wherever he is, he'd better be far away from us," Bulma hoped, keeping her arms close to her chest.

Raditz had doubts about that, however.

In the farthest depths of outer space, a space pod was traveling fast amongst the cosmos and many galaxies. Inside, there sat the wounded Saiyan Prince. Even now, he was still reaching his destination as soon as he can. It was a miracle how he was still alive and breathing, enduring his wounds ever since, but with no proper medication, he was having a difficult time to recover.

 _"Ngh! I'm almost there…I just need to hold…on!"_ the Prince of all Saiyans said to himself.

Meanwhile, Bulma was finally doing some work now for herself. She was arranging her magazines and books in a box. Krillin and Gohan had just finished image-training and now, they were watching Raditz and Bardock in the training room through the window.

Bulma asked the two, "What are you guys doing?"

Gohan looked at her. "We're trying to watch Grandpa and Uncle train. Look at them go!"

"Yeah, they're just like Goku!" Krillin exclaimed. "Saiyans always get stronger every time they fight."

"If you guys are so amused, why not you train with them?" Bulma asked.

Krillin thought it may be a bad idea though. "Are you sure? But there's no way I can keep up with them!"

"Oh, come on," Gohan tried to encourage him though. "We need some training ourselves, Krillin. Besides, I wonder what gravity feels like when it's more than 9.8 meters per second squared!"

"Uh…9.8 meters-what?" Krillin was disconnected easily.

"Oh, I learned that from one of my physics books, heh, heh," Gohan chuckled nervously.

The half-Saiyan then opened the door. They had to go through another entrance before entering the training area itself. Before they stepped inside the gravity room, they had to cover their eyes as a flash of light appeared, brightening the room for a brief second.

"Woah!" Krillin exclaimed.

Once the flash disappeared, it was Raditz who released an energy blast at his father, but he was able to cancel it with his right hand. They were about to resume battle until they saw Krillin and Gohan just by the door.

"Huh?" Bardock said.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" asked Raditz.

"Oh, nothing. We just came by to see you train," Gohan laughed a little.

"Actually, Gohan and I were wondering if we could join you guys, but of course!" Krillin was clearly nervous with them. "Not really fight you guys directly, but maybe Gohan and I can practice in that little corner over there unless you ask us to fight with you, of course. But that might pose a problem 'cause Gohan and I are nowhere to your level. I mean, I fought you before, Raditz, and I can already tell, I don't wanna mess with you, but maybe that's before, but then-!"

And he just kept on talking, unknowingly repeating himself but in different ways.

"Don't waste your breath," Bardock had to interrupt him. "Besides, can you two handle gravity that's heavier than Earth's?"

"We won't know until we try, right?" Gohan asked.

"Hey," Krillin started to get a little confident. "You can change the gravity to like ten times more and we won't be breaking a sweat."

Raditz and Bardock glanced at each other, considering they were practicing under much, much more gravity than Krillin claimed he could. Raditz walked over to the controls and set the settings to 10xG.

"Try it out then," Raditz said, but he was certain they couldn't handle this.

"Thanks!" the moment Krillin stepped in though, he suddenly fell flat-faced on the floor. "OUCH!"

"Whoa! Are you okay, Krillin?" Gohan approached him, already forgetting about the change in gravity and he, too, quickly fell to his bottom. "Ow!"

Raditz smirked. "I stand corrected."

Bardock laughed softly to himself. He then folded his arms. "You guys need to get used to this first. You sure you want to do this?"

Krillin struggled to get up. Instead, he gave a thumps-up. "Sure can!" he said in a muffled voice.

Gohan could not move at all. "I still can't get up…"

While Bulma continued to arrange her magazines, a message was suddenly sent to her through the controls of the ship. "Huh?" she checked to see what the message was. On the screen, she saw a blinking dot, which was identified as an unknown, foreign object. Bulma took a closer look and realized that this dot…was heading right straight for them?

Bulma began to panic a bit. "Uh-uh, y-you guys!" she stammered a lot. "You guys need to come here q-quick!" at first, no one answered her, so she had to yell, "Guys! Get over here NOW!"

Finally, they heard her. Raditz quickly set the gravity back to default and Krillin and Gohan were able to stand up again.

"What does she want this time?" asked Raditz, a little irritated.

"I don't know, but I hope it's not another errand from her," Krillin said.

When they came to her, Bulma was in total panic-mode, telling them that a foreign object was approaching them head-on and fast!

"Is it an asteroid or something?!" Krillin asked frantically.

"No!" Bulma shook her head. "According to the data here, it's another ship!"

"Another one?" Bardock was feeling quite nervous, too.

Suddenly, the alarm went off and their ship was now code-red. A warning was given out, informing to them that indeed, another ship was approaching them fast and they needed to take action as soon as possible.

The blinking dot on the screen was approaching closer, its signals becoming stronger. Everyone fretted.

"Turn the ship back, Bulma!" Raditz told her.

"I'm trying!" Bulma was gripping the steering wheel, but no matter which direction she tried to make their ship go, it was strangely stuck in one place as if it was being sucked into another object or some sort.

"Hey, guys, look!" Gohan pointed in front of them.

Outside, they saw that alien spacecraft, but to their shock, it looked exactly like theirs, like a reflection in a mirror.

"Wait, isn't that _our_ ship?!" Bardock questioned, looking intently out of the window.

"But there's no way!" Krillin's teeth chattered. "This makes no sense at all!"

They did everything that they can to make their ship change their course of action and turn around, but to no avail. They immediately began to feel this forceful pull, dragging their ship closer and closer to this strange mirror in front of them. At the last minute, they could not do anything but stare with panic and fear in their minds. They screamed while Raditz and Bardock kept silent, but almost torn by terror. Once their ship made contact with this "mirror", the ship did not collide with it actually. Instead, it went through the mirror as if they had unknowingly stepped into an invisible realm.


	2. Long Time No See

Episode 47

Long Time No See

It was pitch-black with dimmed red lights flashing throughout this unknown area. An emergency alarm can be heard faintly ringing from a distance. Looking from the outside, Bulma and the others had entered this black, diamond-shaped like ship just floating in the universe.

Everyone just started to wake up.

"Aah! Where are we?" Bulma asked, still terrified about what happened earlier.

Krillin looked around. "I don't know. It's very peculiar though. I thought there was another ship that looked like ours and then-"

"BOO! Hah! I'm an alien!" cried Gohan who tried to scare the wits out of them as a harmless prank. Bulma and Krillin jumped in surprise, but Raditz and Bardock did not even flinch.

"Gohan!" Bulma exclaimed, her hands crossly on her ships.

"That's not funny at all, Gohan," Krillin scolded.

"Sorry!" Gohan smiled. "Uncle, Grandpa, you guys weren't even scared!"

"You think we have time to play games?" asked Raditz. "We're practically in the middle of nowhere!"

Bardock, however, was not the only one who was smiling. "Not exactly…"

"Huh?" they all asked.

They went out of their own ship and stepped outside into this new and strange location. Krillin looked up at the highest peak of this diamond-shaped ship and he almost felt like he was floating.

"Woah, this is pretty cool," Krillin remarked.

"So what do you mean by 'not exactly'?" Bulma asked Bardock, referring to what he said earlier.

"Friends of mine live here," Bardock told her.

"Friends?" asked Gohan. "They actually live in this ship all their lives?!"

"Not really…it's a long story," Bardock said, remembering a memory from the past. He only met them once a year ago. He wondered how they were doing now.

"Well, let's go meet them," Bulma encouraged everyone. "Besides, I'd like to give my feet some exercise. It's been days since we were on that ship."

"Are you sure?" Krillin asked, seeing how the place was still in red code alert.

Bulma was already moving forward, leaving them all behind. "Come on, let's go!"

"Hey, wait up, Bulma!" Gohan ran after her.

They left their ship for a while and headed to this opened gate in front of them, which was the only door in the room. Bulma was at front, casually walking and humming a tune. Everyone thought it was going to be fine until when the last person left the room, the door behind them suddenly shut closed.

"Huh?!" everyone was surprised.

Krillin was almost blue in the face. "H-hold on, but our ship's in there!"

Raditz touched the handle and tried to open it, but it was locked completely. "We can't get in…"

"What did you say?!" Bulma panicked.

 _Click!_

Now, they heard this sound and they immediately turned to the direction where they heard that. They gasped in shock and in response, they huddled together after they saw three high-tech machine guns pointing at them straight in the eye.

"O-okay! New plan! We need to get out of here!" Krillin cried out.

"B-Bardock! Y-you said… they were your friends!" Bulma's voice trembled, almost screaming at the top of her lungs while her hands were clutched onto Krillin and Raditz so tightly she almost hurt them both.

"Darn…they must've mistaken us for enemies," Bardock thought with uneasiness, his eyes still focused on these weapons pointing at them. He noticed there were sensors attached to these, which meant if one of them tried to move out of the weapons' range, they would certainly hit them.

"This isn't happening! No! I want to live! I'm too young and pretty to die! WAAH!"" Bulma cried, still clutching onto Krillin and Raditz tightly.

"Bulma!" Krillin and Raditz shouted to try to calm her down, but only to be hit by her panicking fists continuously.

"Hey, just keep quiet! You think panicking will solve anything?" Bardock asked and then, he came up with an idea. "Okay…on the count of three…"

After Bardock made the countdown, everyone jumped as fast as they could, with Krillin carrying Bulma, up to the ceiling as high as possible. Due to their incredible, superhuman speed, the high-tech guns were not able to shoot them and instead, the bullets shot the floor, leaving several holes on the metal floorboards.

"That was close," Raditz said, looking straight to where they were standing before.

"Raditz, watch out!" Bardock yelled suddenly.

"What?" when Raditz turned his head, two quick javelins and daggers dashed towards him without warning. He gave a back-flip to avoid them and as a result, the weapons pierced the ship's walls instead. Then suddenly, another set of javelins and spiky daggers tried to hit Gohan, Krillin, Bulma, and Bardock, but thanks to their non-human powers, they were able to avoid them all.

"AAH!" Bulma was still crying out.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Krillin breathed heavily to calm himself down. "Man, Bardock, I have a feeling your friends don't recognize you!"

Bardock looked from left to right, to see if they could move on now. "They're just traps implanted in this ship. I couldn't really blame them though why they have to do this…"

"What do you mean?" asked Gohan.

"Couldn't _blame_ them?!" Bulma began to get angry at Bardock. "They nearly killed us! You need to teach your _friends_ a lesson or two how to properly behave around guests especially around a pretty woman like me!"

Even Bardock was now slightly getting irritated at her for rambling on and on without letting him explain himself; however, there was no time to argue or linger.

"Come on," Bardock took flight and went to another direction while the rest followed him.

The Z-fighters had to find and negotiate with Bardock's friends in order to get back to their spacecraft. Bardock led everyone and tried to see if there were any familiar places in the ship. For now though, he can only trust in his senses.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Krillin asked.

"Just be patient," Bardock told him.

Steadily walking as they could, the Z-fighters now found themselves in a vast and dimmed hallway, but there were still no signs of Bardock's friends anywhere. As they walked farther, they realized the hallway was beginning to curve and the atmosphere felt more mysterious than ever. When they proceeded to two more pathways, in front of this particular path, they found these camouflaged holes on the walls that had appeared and initiated machine guns in every corner and side of the hallway. They clicked at once, signaling a warning for them.

"Aah!" Bulma shrieked as she clutched onto Raditz and Krillin once again.

Raditz tried to move his arm away from her, but she kept holding it. "Do you mind?!" he asked, but she was not listening.

"Guess they've really mistaken us for aliens!" Krillin's voice was muffled, seeing how Bulma's entire arm was covering his mouth.

Seconds later, the pistols clicked again and launched rapid fire of bullets, leaving the pathway with very little space to escape or move towards it. The guns were firing non-stop.

"AAH! HELP!" Bulma screamed.

"What are we gonna do now?!" Gohan asked worriedly.

Raditz took a step forward while placing his hand in front of him. Without the slightest effort, he gathered just enough energy to stop these traps once and for all. His palm formed a blinking sphere in the middle and then, he discharged an invisible force field. The waves almost disrupted the structure of the air, somehow resonating throughout the hallway. The force field instantly disrupted the high-tech guns and crushed them all at once.

Krillin blinked his eyes for a moment. "…what didn't I think about that earlier? I just realized we were superhuman!"

"You did it, Uncle Raditz!" praised Gohan.

Bardock nodded to them. He began to advance. "We need to move. Let's go."

As they continued their brief and dangerous expedition, it irritated them all to see themselves ending up in a dead end.

"What the?" Krillin asked.

"Way to go, Bardock!" Bulma complained, her hands gripped tightly on her arms, shaking her head. "You've led us to so many traps and we all ended up at a dead end! We should've just stayed back!"

Bardock kept his temper, but he was becoming to be more and more aggravated with her. "Can you stop complaining for once? Who was the one who wanted to give _her_ feet some exercise, may I ask?"

Bulma did not listen and just turned her head to the other side.

Raditz looked above him and saw a strange-looking plate on the ceiling with a handle on it. "What's that?"

Everyone looked up.

Raditz flew towards it and pulled the handle, which actually led to another level of the ship. Raditz peered over to see what was on the second floor. He quickly made his way there and the rest tagged along. Bulma came next with a bit of help from Krillin. Gohan then followed Bulma and his uncle. Bardock and Krillin were about to go next until suddenly, the door closed shut!

 _SLAM!_

"Huh?" they noticed something very peculiar. The handle and the door mysteriously disappeared from the first floor as if it was not there in the first place.

"What the heck?" asked Bardock who was beginning to feel frantic.

"Hey, open this door!" Krillin slammed the door many times, which had now turned into a ceiling many, but he cannot open it at all.

"Grandpa Bardock! Krillin!" shouted Gohan who was trying to pull the handle, which was still present on the second floor.

"What's going on?!" Bulma screamed with fight.

Raditz was worried until he felt a presence of a figure coming by. Slowly, he turned to look with vigilant eyes and to his surprise, he saw three gigantic robots standing before them. Each had a different look in terms of colors and weapons, but their narrow, elongated heads were similar to that of a skull with glowing red eyes. Their mouths looked like they had two rows of canine teeth. Their bodies were equipped with heavy chest guards, its hands and legs geared with metal shin and arm guards. One robot had two machine guns equipped as its weapon. The other had an axe with a sharp edge. The last one possessed a laser gun and a sword to go along with it.

"What the?" Raditz had never seen anything like this before. His nephew, Gohan, began to back away a little, but he quickly stopped himself, knowing this will be a battle he needed to face.

"What's that?" Bulma shivered in fear until her eyes showed interest to the three gigantic robots. She gasped and said, "Wait! Those things! They look like-"

"-those pirate robots we fought in the Red Ribbon Army!" Krillin exclaimed who, as well as Bardock, were encountering the three exact enemies. They were sliding towards them, their feet acting like sled. They were equipped with different kinds of weapons as well.

"You fought these before?" Bardock asked with his hands and feet in fighting position already.

"Yeah, only they kinda look different from the ones we know. Anyway, Bulma, Goku, and I fought something similar to this in the Red Ribbon Army years ago. We were just teenagers back then," Krillin explained who was readied in his stance as well.

"Red Ribbon?" Bardock asked while remembering his visions. He recalled seeing the young Goku battling Red Ribbon Army's fiercest enemies.

"You fought them before?" Raditz asked Bulma who was telling him and Gohan the same story.

"Of course! But I think we should call them space robots, not pirates! And they look much stronger. Whatever they are, I wanna get out of here!" shouted Bulma, hiding behind Gohan and Raditz.

The space robots were getting closer and closer, their weapons prepared to strike at will. The isolated Z-fighters from the first and second level huddled together and were ready to begin battle.

"Ready?" Krillin asked.

Once the robots were a few feet away for them, it was that signal.

Krillin took his first attack. When one of the space robots took a swing from its gigantic sword, Krillin avoided it and gave a surprising kick to its face, trying to break it as quickly as he can. The second robot pointed its gun at Bardock and fired countless bullets, but thanks to Bardock's phenomenal powers, he leaped quickly to evade them and then, he went for a straight kick to its face. The third took sets of daggers and tossed them like boomerangs. Together, Bardock and Krillin crushed those weapons by releasing force fields from their palms. The two then teamed up together and threw fists towards the third enemy with great power and immense force.

On the second floor, Raditz fought the first space robot, evading its rapid fire bullets from its two equipped machine guns. It continued to fire, but Raditz was able to get between its mechanical legs, slid behind it, and went for a crushing kick to its back, shoving it many distances.

"Aah!" Bulma suddenly screamed, seeing the third robot was about to launch a grenade at her.

"Bulma!" Gohan exclaimed. In an attempt to save her, he quickly pushed Bulma her of the way, letting the grenade explode on the floor instead.

Bulma covered her eyes from the blinding lights. She then looked up. "Gee, thanks, Gohan!"

The young warrior stood with focused eyes and launched a rapid elbow strike to the third robot.

It was pushed back, but little damage was inflicted to it. The space cyborg took out its laser device and fired consecutive laser beams, making its last attack stronger. Gohan almost froze to his feet, but he kept a clear thinking ahead and protected himself with a barrier he made from his own energy to cancel the last beam.

"Hyah!" immediately, Gohan then leaped in air, but was about to get attack again by the foe's sword. It swung its blade at him, but Gohan evaded it. With power and courage, he gave a sidekick to the third robot's face, sliding it against the first robot, which Raditz was fighting with.

The two robots collided with each other, and because of their heavy, metal weight and composition, the two fell to the ground instantly. Gohan and Raditz were ready to finish off them off until the second cyborg suddenly struck from behind, using its sword to blow this gust of winds. It then took out its axe and attacked with it three times, leaving a surge of white, damaging energy from it. These attacks had hit Gohan and Raditz, but the damage was only little. It was more of the bellowing winds that took them temporarily on the ground.

"Hey!" Bulma suddenly shouted to their enemies. From her space-suit skirt, she quickly took out her own high-tech gun from her pocket and aimed it at the second robot. "Listen, big guy! No one messes with my friends like that! Now eat this!" she pulled the trigger and as quick as a jet flies, a bullet with massive energy creating an aura on its tip was shot out to the robot's weapon which was its axe. With another pull of the trigger, Bulma fired a much more powerful bullet and it shot that same robot at one of its mechanical legs this time, causing it to malfunction a little.

Gohan and Raditz were amazed to see Bulma joining the fight with them. They would have never guessed she also had the "fighting spirit" within her.

"Wow," Gohan said.

"So, she can actually do some useful things other than complaining?" Raditz smirked.

Bulma continued to fire more bullets until suddenly, there was a shadow looming over her. She quickly turned around only to see two of their enemies ready to annihilate her. Bulma shook and froze completely until Raditz and Gohan flew above her. All at once, they went for roundhouse kicks to their faces, finally breaking some of their wires.

Bulma wiped the sweat from her face. "Phew!"

"From the looks of it, they're about to back down. Let's keep ruining their circuits," Raditz said to Gohan.

On the first floor, Krillin was seen evading one of the space robot's gigantic sword. The enemy took a good swing at it, letting out a strong gust of wind, almost blowing Krillin away; however, the monk warrior was able to ride on the blade's lustrous surface instead. The robot tried to swing Krillin away from its sword while the Z-warrior tried to keep his balance without falling off.

"Woah! This is complicated!" Krillin exclaimed. Once the timing was just right, Krillin hopped away from the blade and went for a straight punch to the enemy's chest, but was able to avoid his attack. Krillin, being smarter than he looked though, dashed backwards, behind its neck, and gave a good fist at it.

The robot almost lost balance and was about to fall straight towards Bardock. Bardock looked to see his left to see the first robot throwing thousands of oversized needles. Because of his tremendous speed though, he managed to evade those attacks and was able to deflect one of those needles straight to its upper body. Bardock took strength in grabbing its large arm and threw it against the second robot. Both of them fell to the floor.

The last robot crept behind the two fighters and was about to fire one-hundred bullets per second from its oversized machine gun. Krillin and Bardock focused at it and were prepared to take action. Then, all of a sudden, instead of bullets, the robot's mechanical hand switched to a launcher, forming an energy attack instead from the center. The glowing energy instantly became a ball of dangerous light and was launched towards Krillin and Bardock immediately.

Of course, for them especially to Bardock, it was nothing more but a game. Bardock grinned while instantly deflecting the energy ball back at the robot. The enemy was hit by its own attack and was pushed off to its other two companions. All three of them heavily fell on top of another.

Together, Bardock did a Full Power Energy Wave while Krillin fired a Kamehameha wave at the space robots. Their special techniques took high speed and instantly destroyed the enemies leaving with only remnants of some of their mechanical parts.

Bardock grunted and wiped the dust from his shoulders while Krillin said the battle was easy.

On the second level, Gohan and Raditz also took their final attacks with Gohan doing a Masenko and Raditz raising his right hand to fire a Saturday Crush. Their special techniques also destroyed their enemies in an instant.

The space robots had finally been defeated. The door on the ceiling between the first and second floor appeared once again with its handle. It was strange to Krillin and Bardock how this "door" had reappeared and they suspected someone had been watching their every move. They pulled the handle anyway and were able to get to the second floor. They were relieved to know that their friends and family were safe.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Bulma cried. "I hope we won't have to face more of those again!"

"I hope so, too. We have to move on," Bardock insisted. The rest followed afterwards.

They eventually ended up seeing a double door in front them. They opened it and entered, seeing how this room was vast and colossal. A few mechanical crates and boxes were stacked on one another. Its walls were made of steel and there were many dark corners.

"This place is really nothing," Bulma looked around. "Don't tell me this is another trap!"

"But everything looks clear now," Krillin thought.

For Bardock, he felt like he had been here before.

Once again, there was another click and before they knew it, mysterious people in armor and heavy suits surrounded them all at once. Some sprung from windows and hidden doors while others had already been there. They were heavily armed, carrying different kinds of weapons in their hands, ready to fire at will.

"What?" the Z-warriors gasped and then, they fell silent.

Afterwards, two teenagers slowly walked towards the front. One was the leader of this group while the other was his friend and second-in-command. As they walked, they had pistols in their hands.

The leader finally spoke."State your identities. You are not welcome here."

"Wait," Krillin tried to calm the tensions down. "What's this all about? We're not here to-"

"Be quiet!" ordered the second-in-command. "The people I hate the most are the ones who deceive and lie."

"Wait, hold on!" Bulma tried to explain herself. "Aren't you Bardock's friends?!"

Immediately, the leader and the rest of his companions gasped in surprise.

"Bardock?" asked the leader.

Bardock finally showed himself from the shadows with a smirk on his face. "Been a long time, Zeshin."

Zeshin, his ally, Bun, and rest of their companions and relatives realized that it was indeed him.

"Bardock!" all of them cried at once.

Emi, the young girl holding her alien toy, said happily, "Mr. Bardock, it's you!"

"It's really you, Bardock! Oh my gosh," Bun then pushed his goggles he was wearing against his hair. He then ordered everyone to put their weapons down.

Zeshin approached his friend. "Bardock, I can't believe it. We never thought we'd see you again."

Everyone then began apologizing sincerely for making them go through all those traps including the six space robots they had to face.

"We are _so_ sorry, Bardock! Please tell me nobody was hurt," Bun fretted. "We were just caught in the moment and we're just trying to protect ourselves!"

Bardock shook his head. "No, no one is hurt. You should be thankful that we're not ordinary warriors."

Bulma crossed her arms as she lectured the children and teenagers. "Being a scientist, I'm impressed by your technology, but I don't like the idea we nearly got crushed by them. You guys should know who your enemies and friends are!"

Zeshin, Bun, and the rest had their head downs, red on the cheeks, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

"But I guess I can forgive you especially with that cute face of yours," Bulma winked.

Bun realized Bulma was the one who gave him that wink and he became even redder than ever.

Zeshin then suddenly approached Bardock, having a question in mind only for him. "So…have you found him yet?"

Bardock stared at him for a moment, knowing who he was talking about. A lot had happened since this past year, many events taking a different turn. Bardock will continue wait until that day comes, whenever that will be. Lately, his instincts had been telling him that their journey to Namek might finally accomplish one of his main goals in life he had always wanted to accomplish.

Bardock shook his head.

Zeshin gave a rather sad look, but kept a hopeful attitude. "Oh, I see. Well, don't worry. Sooner or later, you'll meet Frieza and when we do, it's payback time!"

Bardock grinned slightly, but from the inside, he felt troubled.

Gohan, Krillin, and Bulma had no idea what they were talking about obviously, but Raditz might seem to know.

Zeshin then looked at the rest of Bardock's friend and family. "Huh? Who are they?"

Bulma, Krillin, Gohan, and Raditz introduced themselves. Zeshin and Bun did the same as well and were much honored to meet them.

"Well, better make sure you don't point your weapons at anybody unless they're your friends," Bulma highly suggested while giving another wink.

This time, both Bun and Zeshin blushed lightly again.

"Yes, we will remember that," Bun said to Bulma.

"But I'm surprised, Bardock. I didn't know you have a son," Zeshin remarked after Raditz told him he was the eldest son of Bardock.

"I have two actually," Bardock held up two fingers, "My youngest is on Earth now, recuperating from his wounds from a great battle we recently had."

"A battle, huh?" Bun said as he placed his hands on his hips. He then remembered. "Oh, I forgot to ask the most important question of all! Why are you guys traveling in space anyway?"

Gohan decided to tell him. "It's a long story, but we're on the hunt to find the DragonBalls to wish our friends back to life after we had a huge battle back on Earth, where we all live."

"Wish your friends back to life? Are you serious?!" Bun could not believe a phenomenon like that could be possible.

"There's no way!" cried Zeshin.

The rest of their companions began to mumble amongst themselves, astounded by this new information they were hearing.

"It is very possible," Krillin told him with a smile. "You may be well surprised there are lot of amazing mysteries and lying out there."

Zeshin and his crew agreed with his words.

"Hey, you guys must probably be tired," Zeshin believed. "If you like, you can stay here for a while to recover."

"Well…forgive us, but we can't stay for long," Bardock apologized. "I know it's a bit short, but we're on our way to Namek. We have a mission we need to do there."

Zeshin's eyes suddenly widened. The word "Namek" sounded very familiar to him. "Wait, did you just say Namek-?"

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

They were all interrupted, however, as the entire room became dimmer and was now surrounded by red alarm lights. Code red was activated and an emergency voice machine was turned on.

 _"Red code alert! Red code alert!_ _A meteor storm is approaching from the northwest direction in less than five minutes."_

"A meteor storm?!" everyone shouted in great shock.

A young boy suddenly came out from the main sector of the spaceship where the main controls were located there. He called out to their leader and second-in-command. "Zeshin! Bun! Come here, quick! A meteor storm is coming! And the asteroids are moving really fast!"

Without any delay, Zeshin and Bun sprinted to the main controls of the ship. The young boy who informed them was on his seat, calculating the time when the meteor storm will hit them. Zeshin and Bun looked outside, noticing shining dots coming right at them and were getting larger by every minute. They calculated that the speed of the meteors was traveling dangerously fast, they were not sure if they had enough time to retreat from this cluster of asteroids. Bardock and the rest tried to see what was going on. They looked out of the window and they, too, saw the fast-moving meteors coming right at them. They began to worry and wondered what they should do.


	3. Meteor Storm Head-On!

Episode 48

Meteor Storm Head-On!

Zeshin bit his lip, but tried to keep a calm state. "Eric, what are some of the updates here? Quick!" he hurried up the young boy named Eric who was in charge of controlling the ship's functions.

Eric read the data on the screen. "According to this here, there's no way for us to retreat from this meteor storm. They meteors may be small in size, but they still pose a serious threat since they come as thousands of them!"

Bun was angry to hear this. "Darn it! What are we supposed to do now?" soon, a plan came to his head. "Eric, activate the ship's shield. It's the only way to keep our ship protected for the time being until we can find a way to get out from this mess."

"Okay," Eric quickly inputted the buttons to activate the barrier. Once he did, their spaceship was instantly surrounded with a visible force field.

Another warning message was sent, informing them they were about to enter the meteor storm in thirty seconds.

"Brace yourselves!" Zeshin shouted.

In an abrupt and dangerous disturbance, their ship suddenly shook violently, the meteors tearing the ship's force field at a rate no one had anticipated. This clashing of these asteroids went on for almost a minute and already, the barrier was losing its effect very quickly.

" _Red code alert! Red code alert!_ _Ship's barrier percentage durability: deducting from 70%."_

"This is not good!" Zeshin exclaimed. He ordered Eric to activate the rest of the shield's emergency energy to add to the barrier's resilience. They needed it to survive and so, Eric did what he told him to do.

"How much time left before the meteor storm goes away?" Bun asked worriedly.

"Only about two minutes left, but I don't think our ship can hold on for long. There's too many of them!" replied Eric frantically.

Cries for help were suddenly heard from the other, helpless children behind them. The Z-fighters turned around to see the endangered kids huddling together in panic and terror. They looked up to see some of the layers of the ceilings falling off, the crates and mechanical boxes in the room toppling over, and their walls gradually being destroyed, about to crush them all.

"Come on!" Bardock hurried to rescue the helpless kids. The rest followed him.

A group of children including Emi were about to get crushed from one of the falling shattering layers from the ceiling. The children closed their eyes in fright, expecting the worse; however, someone saved them just just in time. They all looked up to see Gohan and Krillin had stopped the massive layer from crushing their bodies. They were very glad to see them.

"Gohan! Krillin!" cried Emi.

Krillin struggled with all of his might, but he tried as hard as he can. "Rrrgh! Are you guys all right?"

"Hold on!" Gohan told them.

Together, Krillin and Gohan threw the metal sheet away from the children. But then again, more cries of help were coming from every corner and they immediately responded to those helpless children.

Bardock flew in air and blasted some of the falling layers with quick energy blasts, destroying them into small, harmless pieces while Krillin and Gohan were stopping the collapsing mechanical crates and boxes from hurting the kids who were trying to escape from them.

The spaceship continued to experience a terrible turbulence, the meteors passing by rapidly still and decreasing the ship's barrier. Their shield was slowly losing power.

Bulma and Raditz looked at Eric as the young boy frantically managed every function of their ship, examining every data and update while Zeshin and Bun were helping him out.

Not too long, Bulma thought of an idea and she quickly asked, "Guys, listen! Do you happen to have weapons equipped for your spaceship?"

Bun turned around. "Yes, but why do you ask?"

"We should use it to get rid some of those meteors," explained Bulma. "At this rate, your ship will not last for long. You only have approximately a minute and thirty seconds left before the meteor storm ends."

"But our weapons are not that much," opposed Zeshin, doubting they can even destroy _that_ many asteroids.

"Then I guess we'll just have to try," urged Raditz. He looked at Bulma, agreeing with her idea.

Zeshin finally gave in, knowing they had to do everything that they can in order to survive. He quickly led Bulma and Raditz to another room where their weapons can be used. The two sat beside each other, putting on their communicators with a tiny microphone attached to it.

Bulma showed some of her competitive spirit and so, she asked Raditz, "Let's see which one of us can destroy the most meteors, shall we? Are you ready?"

Raditz neither said anything nor looked at her, but he grinned, implying to her that he had always been ready.

The two made a few adjustments while quickly figuring out how to aim properly. Once they were prepared, they used their controllers to fire and thus, their little competition began.

"Take this!" yelled Bulma, pressing one of the buttons and firing three consecutive laser blasts at the approaching asteroids, creating a dazzling-like effect at the end. She really thought that she was winning, thinking that her intelligence and her knowledge with technology was making Raditz look like only a novice; however, after a few minutes, when she checked to see Raditz's progress, she was surprised that he was already catching up with her rather quickly.

"Hmph!" Bulma felt quite envious. Surely, with her intelligence, those points should have been given to her instead. She growled with frustration and fired consecutive energy blasts, blasting off more of the asteroids.

Raditz noticed how she was getting to be a whole lot of aggressive now. He grinned even more.

" _Attention! Approximately forty-five seconds left until conclusion of meteor storm."_

The Z-warriors were relieved, but knew it was not the time to celebrate yet. Krillin and Gohan continued to save the children from any falling debris while Bardock proceeded to destroy these fragments into harmless pieces. Raditz and Bulma continued to eradicate as many meteors as they can, razing the adherents of the meteors' brigade.

The meteor storm was going to end in thirty seconds, but suddenly, another warning was sent, which terrified them.

" _Red code alert! Red code alert!_ _Giant meteor incoming. Size: 300 km wide, 10 km long."_

Everyone gasped in fright while some of the children had begun to cry. It was the mother of all meteors and the ship's barrier will never overcome its overwhelming, cosmic power.

Bulma and Raditz immediately looked out of the window and saw the giant meteor coming at them. It was the sovereign of the meteor storm, and if no action was taken at this time, a massive destruction will occur.

Bulma bit her lip and looked at her controls. She realized there was a button that was only used for emergencies. Raditz also saw the same switch on his station.

Bulma and Raditz knew at this moment, they had to stop competing and work together on this.

"All right, Raditz," Bulma said, adjusting her functions and making some changes, her fingers moving rapidly on the buttons with no time to spare. "We have to make this quick. ED, set all strengths of weapons to the maximum possible."

Raditz was also adjusting his controls and making quick, thorough adjustments and calculations.

The two then moved the lever upwards at its highest bar, lighting up all five squares. They grabbed their controls as tightly as they can and they yelled, launching a powerful beam attack to the giant meteor, its spectacular rays trying to throw it back and make it detonate. It emitted bright lights, destroying the meteor little by little, tearing it off piece by piece.

"Come on!" growled Raditz with aggravation. He did not realize that the pressure he was applying on the controls was too much that he could break it.

Bulma had to flip a few switches and make more adjustments. She pushed another lever. "All right, let's see if this works now."

The combined beam became stronger and heavier, but it was still not enough to destroy the oversized comet.

Bardock noticed Bulma and his son trying to stop the meteor. Now, he felt he had to do something. Bardock began to look for some kind of door, an exit door, in which he can go outside of space. He turned around and found an emergency exit. With haste, he sprinted to it lightning-speed, opening the door and closing it behind him.

He found himself running through a dimmed hallway with inflated walls and floor. Once he came to the end, he saw another door with a handle and outside will lead him into the open area of the endless universe filled with cosmic stars and bodies. Without any second thoughts of hesitance, he opened the door with strong air suddenly trying to reel him in as if a black hole was right there, but this pull had little effect on the Saiyan warrior. He flew towards outside and landed on top of the roof of the mirror ship. Right before his eyes, the giant meteor was approaching closer and closer.

Bardock took a deep inhale and exhale. He bent his elbows and to the side while powering up, the tone of his muscles becoming more visible. His eyes shone as he started to lift his left hand, his palm slowly forming sapphire-colored radiance as if a star was being born from the center of his hand. Every second it shone more vividly, emitting spiraling rays.

He then shouted with all his might to release his energy out. "HYAAH!" he launched an intense, blue-colored beam of light, which split into several homing energy blasts like a shooting star, while glittering like star particles. Bardock's skill instantly hit the colossal meteor.

Now with Bardock's help, the meteor was finally getting pushed back. To put an end to this meteor storm at once, Bardock powered up again and his Super Attack emitted more of these vivid, bursting waves. "HYAAH!" he yelled once again.

" _10 seconds left before meteor storm ends. Ship's barrier percentage durability: deducting from 15% rapidly."_

The ship's force field was visibly losing power as more and more meteors struck it ruthlessly. Only ten seconds remained though and so Zeshin, Bun, and their companions must hold on for these last ten more seconds; however, what concerned them the most was the mother of all meteors and wondered if Bardock and the others can prevent it from colliding with them.

Bulma and Raditz continued to fire the gigantic meteor without stopping while Bardock followed through with his vigorous attack. Not too long, because of their teamwork, the giant meteor was finally being pushed back many distances away from them. They were able to drive it towards an isolated star, almost as large as the sun.

Bulma saw this and knew it was the time to make the grand finale. She turned to Eric, Zeshin, and Bun and told them to pilot their ship as far away as possible from the collision between the giant meteor and star before it explodes right in front of them.

The three immediately changed their ship's speed and adjusted it to the highest ever. "Lock and load! Go!" Eric, Zeshin, and Bun cried in unison. At the blink of an eye, their mirror ship took lightning-speed and flashed away from the meteor and sun as if they were traveling back in time, allowing them to escape. At that pinnacle moment, the two cosmic materials smashed together and woke a giant explosion of dazzling, newborn stars, floating debris, and interstellar gas. Luckily, they were already miles away and the children instead enjoyed a spectacular sight afar.

 _"Zero seconds remaining._ _Conclusion of meteor storm. Ship's barrier percentage durability: 2%. Mission accomplished."_

"Yay!" everyone jumped for joy.

"All right, we did it!" Gohan exclaimed happily.

Krillin was with a group of kids. "All right, guys, everything's safe now."

Eric, Zeshin, and Bun had a relieved sigh and they were very thankful that everyone was safe from harm.

Bulma and Raditz were relieved as well. They leaned back on their chairs, calming themselves down.

"Wow, our scores are tied," Bulma pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," said Raditz.

"Who would've ever guessed Saiyans also knew how to fight not just with their fists only?" Bulma asked.

Raditz fixed his wrist guards. "To us, fighting is almost like the solution to all of our problems, but we're also taught a lot of things."

Bardock was still at the rooftop of the ship, watching the cosmetic explosion from a far distance. He smiled.

Soon, Zeshin and his crew escorted to the Z-fighters back to their own ship. When they arrived, however, their own spacecraft had endured a few scratches and dents from the impact of the meteor storm earlier ago. Zeshin and his crew though offered to fix it in less than an hour and they will be all good to go to Namek.

A few of Zeshin's teammates who were highly specialized in fixing technology and machines went ahead to fix the Z-fighters' ship. While doing so, everyone talked for a moment while some were cleaning up all the debris and fragments.

Bardock and Raditz were helping clean the mess. Krillin and Gohan were hanging out with the other kids and teenagers including Emi. Bulma was talking to Zeshin and Bun.

"So you guys are all heading to Namek, right?" asked Zeshin.

Bulma nodded her head. "Mmm-hmm. Might take us weeks to get there though."

"Hey, no worries," Bun said to her. "We actually know a shortcut to Namek!"

Bulma was surprised. "What? You guys have been there before?"

"No, but we remember passing it weeks ago," Bun said.

"Just head to the route of K5162 and you'll find a ten day shortcut to Namek!" Zeshin exclaimed.

Bulma was glad to have received this information. "Are you serious?! Oh my gosh, you guys are the best! I'm so glad we crossed paths."

Bun and Zeshin chuckled to themselves.

"Hey, you guys!" Bulma called her friends and informed them about this amazing shortcut. After knowing that this detour will get them to Namek in just ten days, they were excited than ever to revive their friends much faster than they expected. This also meant they can head back to Earth as early as possible.

Once Zeshin and his were done repairing the Z-warriors' ship, Bulma and her friends were ready to resume their adventure.

"Thanks for telling us about the shortcut," Krillin was grateful.

Zeshin shook his head with a smile. "Nah, you don't have to thank us. We should be thanking _you_ for helping us get through that nasty meteor storm."

"So it's only right to at least help you in your journey," Bun mentioned.

Bardock understood. "Thank yourselves for remaining strong even at times like these. Be careful next time, all right?"

"Sure, we'll do," Bun said.

"I hope we can meet again," Bulma smiled.

"I hope so, too. Maybe next time, you'll see us in our new home planet," Bun thought.

"And you're more than welcome to visit us anytime!" Zeshin waved.

"Thanks for everything, guys!" Gohan waved back as well as the rest.

They went inside their ship and Bardock was the last one to leave. Zeshin's eyes then suddenly widened to have remembered something very important. "Wait! I forgot to tell you something!"

They did not hear him except for Bardock. He turned around and asked what it was.

"This shortcut though, you have to watch out for one thing," Zeshin informed him. "There's a planet there that looks like Namek, but it's only meant to deceive you. Be careful about that, all right?"

Bardock thanked him for giving this heads-up. "Sure, I'll keep an eye on it."

"And Bardock," Zeshin then had a confident smile, "wherever Frieza is, promise us that you'll finally end that tyrant's reign of terror."

Bardock did not say anything this time, but he took in his message and gave a determined look, knowing that Frieza's sovereignty will soon be a no more.

Bardock entered the ship and closed the door behind him. Soon, it began to move and accelerate and it flashed right before their eyes, leaving black streaks on the floor. It disappeared afterwards, exiting Zeshin and his companions' mirror ship and entered the cosmos and stars once again.

Zeshin could wish them all the best now.

"That was an interesting visit, huh, Zeshin?" Bun asked.

Zeshin turned around.

"And to think they're just as determined as us to get things right and to the way they should be…," Bun was very much inspired by them and the rest of his companions were, too.

"Heh, heh…," Bun then took off this white bandage on his cheek and smiled. He turned around to his friends. "Well, we should get going ourselves. Zeshin, you said your father has a nice planet for _all_ of us to stay in. So what are you waiting for?"

"Sounds good!" agreed Zeshin.

"And if we ever have to face that tyrant, Frieza, let's all work together to eliminate him," added Bun.

Zeshin nodded and cried out loud to his companions so that everyone can hear. "Right. You guys ready?!"

"YEAH!" the rest cheered happily.

In the depths of the space, Bulma had inputted the coordinates that Zeshin told them.

"All right, let's head to Planet Namek to the direction of K5162. I'm glad they mentioned that shortcut," said Bulma with a smile.

But Krillin was seen standing in one place, thinking for a while. "Hey, did you guys remember what that kid whispered to Bardock?"

"Oh yeah," Gohan remembered. "I think he said something about…'Frieza', was it?"

"I don't know who that is, or what it even is," Krillin shrugged his shoulders. "But Bardock seemed disturbed by it, like it's some sort of bad luck."

"I don't think it's all that serious!" Bulma thought Krillin was taking what he saw a little too seriously.

"But do you think it's another new opponent?" the monk warrior anxiously asked.

"Just relax, Krillin!" Bulma calmly assured, confident that there were no forewarnings waiting for them in the future. She got up from her front seat and decided to take a quick nap. "I'll call you guys whenever I wake up," she yawned and fell asleep in her room.

The half-Saiyan then asked Krillin, "Well, maybe we should go back to training, you think?"

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," Krillin agreed. "Why not we try out the gravity room while we're at it?" he proposed.

"Sure!" agreed Gohan.

Inside the training room, Raditz and Bardock were about to resume training. While Raditz was adjusting the gravity in the room, he happened to glance at his father who was now standing by the window, gazing at the stars out in the universe.

Raditz did not know, but he had a very strong feeling that their trip to Namek will not be as simple as they had all expected or at least, hoped it to be. Was he only over-thinking or maybe his instincts were trying to signify to him a great importance?

He looked at his father again who was walking away from the window and now standing at the center of the training room.

Without any words being spoken, both father and son were convinced that they will have to expect the unexpected and may encounter new challenges during their time in Namek.

Therefore,, in preparation for the future trials ahead, Bardock told his son, "Let's keep training. If we only have ten days to Namek, then we'll have to make the most of it."

Raditz was in the same frame of mind as him.

Bardock and Raditz resumed their training, further enhancing their skills to ensure they can come face-to-face against new enemies along the way. Meanwhile, Krillin and Gohan were wondering who this "Frieza" was and presumed this person may have some sort of connection towards Bardock. Does the Z-fighters have what it takes to surpass their future opponents?


	4. Friendly Guests?

Episode 49

Friendly Guests?

Five days had passed.

The Saiyan pod in which Vegeta rested inside continued to travel many distances in space, yet it was very close now in reaching its destination. Vegeta's wounds were not getting any better, which came as a terrible sign to the prince, his overall being, he knew, now at critical state. He was using a life supporter to somehow keep himself living. His injuries were too great and agonizing, but the anger and pride inside his heart burnt. He swore he will seek revenge very soon for he will never accept defeat especially against an ordinary fighter who can outclass a royal elite.

After traveling for days enduring injuries, Vegeta opened an eye to look outside and realized he had finally arrived to his destination, a planet much unknown to others. His Saiyan pod entered the atmosphere, prepared to take landing.

Upon entering the planet, it was clearly night outside and many buildings were distributed and built amongst the land. The structure of these buildings appeared to be like a military base or an armory squad. Vegeta's spaceship shot out like a meteor and landed at the launching station area.

From the inside of one of those buildings, two alien soldiers dressed in futuristic armors were playing chess to pass time until the computer beside them indicated about a Saiyan pod.

"Huh? Someone just landed and he looks very familiar to me," one soldier observed.

"Could it be Prince Vegeta? Along with Nappa and Raditz?" the other asked.

A third soldier examined closer who was on the computer. "It could be. Let's go meet them."

They headed out from their base and proceeded outside. With Vegeta holding the title as the Prince of all Saiyans, they must stand firm and straight. As stiff as they can be, they were intimidated by Vegeta since he came from a regal bloodline; thus, he had every right to wipe them out like tiny insects if he wanted to.

The soldiers were anticipating two more Saiyan pods to land alongside Vegeta's, but those ships did not come.

"Where's Nappa and Raditz?" the first soldier panicked a little.

"Why they're not with Prince Vegeta?" the other asked.

The startled, confused soldiers waited for Vegeta to come out from his ship, but he did not, which worried them more. One of the soldiers came up to the Saiyan pod and realized Vegeta had an oxygen mask on his mouth. He was shocked and quickly informed his corrodes that the prince was using a life supporter. They were forced to open the door of the Saiyan pod and had to bring Vegeta into the Isolation Chambers where his wounds can be treated immediately. Inside the treatment room, Vegeta was placed inside a tank filled with medicinal water.

The anxious solders assumed that he went through heavy combat as well as Nappa and Raditz. They still wondered where the two were though.

"It doesn't really matter," the third soldier shook his head while he was monitoring Vegeta's vital signals. "Let's treat the prince's wounds as soon as possible before he's the next one to fall."

They did not know though that Nappa was betrayed and had been killed by the hands of Vegeta while Raditz had completely changed at heart.

At another location of the universe, the Z-fighters' spacecraft continued to head to the direction of K5162. Krillin was busying himself having to clean up Bulma's mess again. Raditz was helping his nephew with his studies while Bardock was in the washroom, freshening himself up by cleaning his face. Bulma was still in her bed, taking a nap.

"So what do I have to do on this problem? I'm kinda lost," asked Gohan who had his math workbook opened.

"Break the question piece by piece. They have different numbers in each of the denominator, so what do you have to do in order to get them to the same denominator?" Raditz gave him a hint.

"Oh!" Gohan realized. "Get the least common multiple, of course!"

"Right, and don't forget. This is a mixed fraction so you need to first convert this to…?" he asked.

"Uh…an improper fraction, right? Do mixed fractions always lead to improper fractions?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, no matter what. Do the math and you'll see," Raditz answered.

In the bathroom, Bardock was drying his face with a towel. When he looked at his own reflection in the mirror, he saw his scar on the left side of his cheek. At that point, many memories lingered in his mind. That name of the power-hungry sovereign echoed in the depths of his conscious.

He had a very serious look until he gasped in fright again when another vision passed in his head. He saw their own ship landing to Namek and Bardock could see himself in that vision, appearing to be frightened and anxious as he was hearing this nasty laughter echoing from a distance, and this malevolent mirth belonged to a being he knew too well.

He placed his right hand against his forehead as that vision brought him an unnecessary headache while his left hand gripped on the side of the sink.

He then shook his head and tried to calm himself down. Why was he hearing that bloodcurdling laughter in his vision? Perhaps the image that he had was simply trying to over-exaggerate. The constant worry, this unforgettable rage, and his deep-rooted fear about Frieza he had for so long sometimes manifested itself in his visions.

He must not let it get him distracted from his training though.

His mind was soon at ease. He put the cloth back on the towel stand. He turned off the lights and closed the door behind him, but the moment he stepped out, the ship suddenly made a heavy shake.

"Rrrgh!" Bardock cannot believe he was caught almost off-guarded, he nearly tripped. While he was adjusting himself to this unexpected turbulence, he heard Krillin yelling, "Woah, what's that?!"

"Huh?" Bardock walked quickly to the main interior of the ship. "What's going on?"

"Look, Grandpa Bardock!" Gohan pointed out of the window anxiously while holding onto his study desk.

Bardock glanced outside and noticed interstellar gases of different colors with thunderbolts and lightning as if they were passing a thunderstorm. The only difference was they were in space instead. To him, this was all too familiar, merely a déjà vu for him. "Not again…"

Raditz was trying to maintain his balance while he asked with confusion, "What do you mean 'not again'?"

"Hey, we need to get Bulma!" Krillin brought up. "We might be going in the wrong direction!"

Bardock shook his head. "No, it's nothing really to worry about unless you're training in the gravity room now. It's just a recent Nebula that just exploded."

"It looks pretty dangerous though!" Gohan remarked.

"If you have stuff that can hit you or might trip over, of course," Bardock said.

The ship kept vigorously moving from side-to-side and up and down. Everyone tried to maintain their stability to the best they can, but they cannot prevent their stuff and belongings from cluttering all over the place.

"Hey, is Bulma okay?!" Gohan asked.

"I'll have to go to her," Krillin ran to her bedroom and opened the door. To his surprise, he found her all sound asleep despite this disturbing turbulence. "What the…? Hey, Bulma!" he tried to wake her up. "We're going through a recent Nebula storm! You need to get up so you won't hurt yourself."

Bulma had her sleeping mask on. She quietly pulled the blankets over her face. She may be awake, but she can still fall right back to sleep despite this commotion. "Yeah, I know that. Don't worry about it though. It won't hurt us. Just do what you need to do," she immediately fell right back to sleep.

"What?" Krillin scratched his head in confusion.

Gohan was still trying to hold onto his desk, but he accidentally spread his math work all over the floor. "Aww!" he said with disappointment.

Raditz kept his back against the wall. "Don't tell me we have to clean all this mess again!"

Suddenly, the ship suddenly went upside-down, which caught everyone off-guarded and they all crashed up and down. Once, the ship took a full 360-degree turn and they all fell to the floor and bumped themselves in the ceiling.

Raditz accidentally fell on top of his father and he growled in response.

"Rrrgh!" Bardock felt slight pain from his fall. "Man, Raditz, you've gotten heavy. Did you gain some pounds or something?"

"What?!" Raditz seemed irritated about it. "I haven't eaten anything yet!"

"Heh, heh, just joking," Bardock chuckled lightly. Even in situations like these, he liked to make a few small jokes if he was in the mood for them.

Krillin was hitting his head too many times against the ceiling and walls. He noticed Bulma continuing to sleep in her room, not noticing she was flying everywhere.

"I mean, really! How could Bulma still sleep from all of this?!" Krillin wondered.

Bardock thought that this Nebula storm was just taking too long to finish, he stood up and sat on the pilot seat. "Okay, that's it!" he piloted the ship himself, trying to keep it in place while it was going through this Nebula explosion, but it was clearly difficult to do so.

In minutes' time though, the ship had finally escaped from the Nebula storm without experiencing any damages or technical difficulties to its engine.

Gohan blinked his eyes. "That's finally over!"

Bardock heaved a sigh, leaning against the seat.

Lo and behold, Bulma woke up and suddenly found herself on the floor. She stretched out her arms and yawned. "Ooh! Did I fall from my bed? I must've had a dream…"

Krillin really had no idea how could she simply believe that she just fell from her bed whereas she was actually floating and bumping into things in her room. How could she not notice all this clutter?

"I'm gonna go and get a snack," Bulma said, going out of her room. She then found Krillin lying on the floor with a bunch of things on his head. "Huh? What were you trying to do, Krillin? Sit-ups?" she giggled.

Krillin just simply shook his head, remaining on the floor. "I still couldn't understand how she did it."

When Bulma went to the main interior of the ship, practically ignoring the mess everywhere once again, she noticed Bardock sitting on the pilot seat, _her_ seat. "Hey, what are you trying to do, Bardock? I'm in charge of the ship!" she was a little annoyed.

Bardock folded his arms and kept to where he was. He raised an eyebrow. "I assume you know what happened during your restful slumber?"

"Yeah, there was a Nebula storm, but I won't let that ruin my beauty sleep. Now hand me over the wheel. I'll see where we are now," Bulma walked over to him and she was about to take charge until up ahead, she saw a mint-green planet with fog surrounding it.

"Huh? Wait, already?" she exclaimed with surprise and now, she was feeling excited. "Guys, guys! Look! I can see Namek up ahead!"

"What?" they all asked, hardly believing that their trip had taken them this short to get there.

"Go on, move!" Bulma had to push Bardock aside so that she could sit on her seat. She began making calculations and collecting data about this planet.

"You cheeky little…," Bardock was getting more annoyed with her especially for pushing him like that.

Bulma completely ignored him, however. She could not sit still on her seat actually, her heart racing with more excitement. "Yes, it _is_ Namek! Whoo hoo!" she cheered, knowing they were only moments away from reviving their lost friends with the DragonBalls.

Bardock, Krillin, Raditz, and Gohan had doubts in their minds.

Krillin tilted his head to the side. "Are you sure that's-"

"-Planet Namek?" Gohan asked, finishing his sentence.

"But it hasn't been ten days yet," Raditz mentioned.

"No, the info here doesn't lie," Bulma proudly said. "I'm very certain that's Planet Namek. Come on. Strap yourselves in, boys!"

Bardock immediately remembered what Zeshin had warned him before and so, he had to step in and stop her for a moment. "Listen, Bulma. That planet is _not_ Namek. It's only meant to deceive you."

Bulma pointed at the screen while telling him, "But tell me what these coordinates say, Bardock? It says 'K5162'! We're already at Namek!"

"But it hasn't been ten days," Bardock reiterated what his eldest son said.

"Well, what the heck? Probably that Nebula storm made us time travel or something!" Bulma tried to reason out. She was clearly not convinced.

Raditz rolled his eyes and found her statement ridiculous.

"Ugh!" Bulma became more irritated. "Why don't you Saiyans trust my intellect for once? I'm the one who's the planet expert here, so hush!" she scolded them.

"Planet expert? You've got to be kidding me," Raditz now felt annoyed with her. "As if you traveled all around the universe your whole life more than we Saiyans had!"

Bulma continued to argue with him and Bardock, trying to convince them that she was right in everything. Gohan and Krillin simply stood to where they where while debating to themselves if they should find this amusing or not.

Both Bardock and Raditz almost had to take the wheel from her to make her move away from this planet, which they claimed to be a fake Namek, but Bulma was faster than she looked, she already pressed the landing button and they were too late. The ship took high speed, entered the planet immediately, and prepared for landing. While entering the planet, she had an evil, triumphant-like laughter to herself, wanting to do things her way. The background behind her was getting all cluttered and messy again, and Krillin and the others had to endure such quakes and turbulence.

Soon, Bulma made a perfect landing without making a scratch on their spaceship, but of course, the interior of the ship now looked like a waste landfill.

"Here we are!" she chirped.

Gohan shook his head. "She could've at least given us time to use our seat belts."

The mess that he was covered with, Bardock emerged from it. He could feel his temperature soaring above his head and if nothing can be done to calm him down now, he might literally explode this time. "For the last time…Bulma…," he kept his voice low, yet clearly frustrated, "this is _not_ Namek…"

"Oh?" Bulma was not at all intimidated by him. "Then why not we take a look outside? Maybe you'll be persuaded this time."

He including Raditz could only face-palmed themselves. She was too stubborn; she would not listen to anybody.

The Z-warriors went out of their ship and observed their surroundings. They actually saw thousands of very tall trees implanted almost everywhere, the trees almost as high with fresh rivers and lakes. It was all a natural history without a single speck or dirt at sight.

"This is Namek?" asked Gohan.

"Wait a sec, but I thought Namek's still going through changes," Krillin thought, "according to what King Kai told us."

"I also thought of that," Raditz kept his eyes fixed at one angle.

"Hmm," Bulma began to think. She then pulled out her Dragon Rader from one of the pockets of her space suit and held the device in front of her, "well, probably King Kai made a mistake. Now, to look for those DragonBalls. If we get a signal here, then you're all be convinced that we've come to the right place!"

As she kept the Dragon Radar up high, towards the sun shining upon them, they heard two voices from a distance.

"Hello," those two greeted.

"Huh?" Bulma put down her device to the side. She and the rest of her friends saw two creatures standing in front of them. They actually looked like Piccolo and wore similar clothing as he did.

Bulma gasped in surprise and she said with a smile, "Wait, you look like Piccolo and Kami…you must be Namekians!"

The two creatures nodded to her, saying that she was correct.

Krillin slipped his hands inside his pocket. "Well…maybe this _is_ Namek after all."

Gohan asked him, "You think?"

"Of course!" Bulma exclaimed. "And they must be nice, too!"

"Yes, you have nothing to fear. We are very peace-loving creatures. I'm Raiti," the one named Raiti introduced himself.

"And I am Zaacro," the other also introduced himself.

The two then spread their arms wide and welcomed them to Planet Namek. Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan felt they could trust them after all; however, Raditz and Bardock knew there was something too devious about this.


	5. Cunning Illusion

Episode 50

Cunning Illusion

"I'm sorry, guys," Bardock suddenly said who had his back turned these creatures that he deemed unreliable already. He was heading back to the ship. "We've got another planet that's far more _genuine_ than this," he emphasized that word, showing his contempt already.

"Uh, what do you mean?" asked Zaacro who was confused.

Raditz followed his father from behind. He tried to call his nephew and the rest of his friends. "Come on, no time to waste."

"Hey!" Bulma placed her hands on her hips. "You two are being rude! These two gentlemen are really Namekians! I'm sure they're here to help us out."

"Yes, we would very much like to help you find these…DragonBalls you wanted to look for," Raiti said.

"Yes, so you can grant your wishes," Zaacro added.

Of course, everyone was obviously shocked since they had not spoken a word about their hunt for the DragonBalls. This made Bardock and Raditz's suspicions grew even stronger. Their conviction for the Namekians rapidly faded. Actually, it was not even there in the first place.

"We just know about everything there is to know about," Zaacro explained why he knew about their plans.

"And what do you mean by that?" Bardock asked firmly, wanting to know how they had acquired knowledge about this.

"Well, we can read minds," Zaacro simply said.

Bardock immediately grunted and chuckled under his breath. "Read minds? Since when Namekians can do that? I know all about psychic abilities more than what you think."

Raiti knew he and Raditz did not trust them one bit, but he wanted to assure them, "Please! We mean no harm at all. You can trust us. We will cause no animosity."

Bulma was annoyed with the Saiyans again. "Are you kidding me?! You guys are really being impolite!"

"No, please," Zaacro tried to calm her down as well. "It's fine. I guess we're just too nice to strangers."

Raiti had an innocent smile and told his friend, "Well, not all strangers; only the ones we like. You guys are very trustworthy. In fact, we're thinking if we could use your help."

"Our help?" asked Krillin.

"Yes," Raiti nodded. He then suddenly had a disappointed look. "You see, we Namekians come in tribal groups and we perform rituals twice a year to foretell any forthcoming calamity that we might face. Though our planet has faced many troubles, on this very day, we saw a vision and it could be our greatest calamity ever yet."

Bardock raised an eyebrow.

"We saw a vision that a terrible, galactic emperor will soon come to this planet and ravage us all!" finished Zaacro.

"That's terrible!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Oh my," Bulma gasped in fright. "What are you guys going to do about it?"

"Unfortunately, we do not have the power to fight whatsoever to ward off this evil emperor. We're hoping that you could help us build like an escape ship that'll help us leave this planet for good," Raiti explained with desperation, "before that emperor gets to us."

Bulma, Gohan, and Krillin looked at each other one by one. Raditz and Bardock, however, were sensing something strange about their words.

"This beautiful ship that you have," Zaacro approached the spacecraft that the Z-warriors landed with, "I bet you made this, no? It can really get the job done, I can tell."

Bulma folded her arms and thought about it. "Well, building a ship can take a lot of time. Do you guys have the tools or a laboratory somewhere?"

"And if you're thinking of using ours, I don't think all of your people can fit in there," Krillin laughed a little.

"Oh no, there's not much of us left," Raiti said sadly, putting his head down.

"Yes," Zaacro had the same expression as his. "We have unfortunately gone through so many troubles and instability in this planet, there're only thirty of us left."

Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan felt extremely sorry for them.

"That's so sad," Gohan expressed.

"Oh no," Bulma shook her head, feeling like she could cry.

However, Raditz and Bardock had to interrupt. In fact, they were getting sick and tired hearing their lies that were just masked as words of pity in order to persuade and make them sympathize with these deceitful creatures.

"Enough with this talk," Raditz raised his voice. "You're trying to deceive us and we're not going to fall for it!"

"Guys!" Bulma had to shout again at Raditz including Bardock.

"Wait a second!" Zaacro interrupted them before this tension could have escalated to something worse than an argument. "There's no need to fight. I understand how your friends do not trust us still. Look, here's the deal. These DragonBalls that you're looking for, they're all with us, at this very moment!"

The Z-warriors were surprised.

"Huh? You do? Where?!" Bulma looked from left to right. She pulled out her Dragon Radar again and pressed the button on top. On the screen, she saw that all seven DragonBalls were gathered in one spot. "I can't believe this. You guys have all of them!"

"As we mentioned before, we perform our tribal rituals twice a year and we use these DragonBalls analogous to a fortuneteller's crystal ball," Raiti explained. "We can get them for you now and then, will you be willing to stay to build a ship for us?"

Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan felt they could certainly trust them after all. They agreed to this deal then. All of them were now excited that their friends will be wished back to life and they were only moments away from it.

However, Raditz and Bardock cannot believe how gullible they were to fall right into their trap, but after hearing from Bulma that the Dragon Radar was able to detect all seven DragonBalls, they were a little confused now who or what to believe in.

"I don't understand this," Raditz said to himself.

"We'll just have to wait for a while then," Bardock whispered to his son.

Raiti turned to his friend and asked him, "Zaacro, please get all the DragonBalls. And while you do that, I'm going to treat our guests to a delicious buffet," he generously offered to them.

Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan realized they had not eaten any lunch yet and so, after hearing the word "buffet", their stomachs growled in response.

"I _am_ getting kinda hungry," Gohan held his stomach.

"Yeah, why not? Let's go ahead and eat!" Krillin insisted.

"You two are very generous, thank you," Bulma expressed her gratitude for their hospitality.

While Zaacro went to get the DragonBalls, Raiti prepared this delicious buffet for them to fill their stomachs. The food looked exotic, of course, but the aroma was quite mouth-watering.

They sat down on the grasses like they were having a picnic. Immediately, they ate all of this food and they were quire amazed by how it tasted. It was an entirely new flavor, but enjoyable one as well.

"Mmm!" Bulma had a big smile on her face. "You guys can really cook. Where do you guys live anyway?"

"In a basement down here," Raiti pointed to where he went to before when he got all this food for them.

"I bet you have a laboratory there since you want us to build you a ship, right?" asked Gohan.

"Yes, of course," Raiti nodded.

Krillin continued to munch on his food. While chewing, he turned his head to check on Bardock and Raditz. The two full-blooded Saiyans kept very close to the ship, not enjoying themselves at all. They were leaning against the walls of their spacecraft, their heads down, their arms folded, and their eyes closed. Their minds, however, were in a state of great vigilance.

"Guys, don't you wanna join us?" asked Krillin. The fact that the two of them were not even tempted by the scent of food, which, he believed, was every Saiyan's weakness, he found this to be strange.

"Nah, leave them alone. They just need more time to trust you guys, right, Raiti?" Bulma asked and went back to eating.

Raiti stood up and began to wander around. "Yes, of course. You just give them time to think."

Gohan had been keeping his eyes on Raiti the whole it. At first, he thought this was really Namek, but now, just seeing the actions of the Namekians, he found something quite off. He wiped all the crumbs from his pants and then, he whispered to his friends. "I've been wondering though…"

"What's that?" asked Krillin.

"I mean, don't get me wrong," Gohan told them, "I'm excited that we'll soon be bringing our friends back to life, but don't you think our journey has been too…easy?" at the end, he lowered his tone a little more so that only Krillin and Bulma could hear him.

Krillin placed his hands on the grasses and leaned back a little to stretch. "If the truth be known, I kinda have to agree with you. I mean, of course I want our trip to be smooth-sailing in every possible way, but…"

Bulma shook her head, however, and thought they were just making things way too complicated than they seemed. "You guys think too much! So what if it's too easy? When the perfect opportunity comes, you have to grab it!"

"Yes," Raiti spoke out of the blue.

The three almost jumped in surprise that he was hearing their conversation all along.

Raiti then suddenly spread his arms out wide, trying to touch the skies above him. "We've been waiting for so long about that perfect opportunity, but I think now the time has come. This planet has been a bore to us and we desperately want to escape it."

The three immediately became confused by what he just said.

"A bore?" Bulma asked, "But I thought-"

She was interrupted, however, when Zaacro had finally returned. He was carrying a large sack over his shoulder. "My friends, I have all the DragonBalls here!"

"Oh, wow!" Bulma exclaimed. She quickly stood up and went to Zaacro to check out what the DragonBalls would look like. Krillin and Gohan tagged along. As if they had already forgotten about their doubts, they were excited, relieved, and at joy that they were only minutes away from summing the dragon and having it grant their wishes.

Zaacro placed the bag in front of them and opened it immediately. Inside laid all seven DragonBalls, these precious orbs shimmering and glittering in front of their eyes.

Bulma could not contain her excitement. She quickly took out her Dragon Radar and pressed the button on top. Even her device did not lie. These were definitely the DragonBalls they had been looking for.

Raditz and Bardock finally opened their eyes. Still feeling suspicious of Raiti and Zaacro, they agreed they should keep close to their friends and Gohan in case anything should happen. Bardock moved his head, insisting Raditz that they should go and have a closer look.

The two Saiyans then stood behind Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan.

"They actually look the same as from Earth," Krillin remarked, still staring at the DragonBalls.

"Yeah, I thought they were going to look a bit more different," Gohan said.

"Who cares? All right, everyone, time to grant our wish!" Bulma excitedly said.

Just before Bulma had made the chant to summon the dragon, Bardock and Raditz were quick enough to chance a glance at Raiti and Zaacro. They did not know why, but they believed they saw their appearances actually being replaced with another alien race-

"Hey, WATCH OUT!" Bardock warned them.

All of a sudden, Raiti and Zaacro began to screech in a very unnatural tone; not even a Namekian would make a sound like that. "You fools!" the two had a sinister laugh.

Unexpectedly, the DragonBalls produced several silk-like threads like web, which caught Bulma, Gohan, and Krillin by surprise. Raditz and Bardock were able to get away before the threads could have gotten them as well. The web then attached itself to the corners and trees with Bulma, Gohan, and Krillin stuck in the middle of the web, struggling with all their might to get out.

"What's going on?!" Gohan cried out, his hands and legs all in these tough threads.

"Hey, what's the big deal?!" Bulma questioned angrily. "I thought you guys were on our side!"

"You fools really fell for that, didn't you?!" shouted Raiti and Zaacro.

Bardock grunted with irritation. "Tch! I should've known."

Raditz shook his head. "If only they listened, none of this would've happened."

Krillin was using all his strength, but it seemed like the threads of the web resisted to budge every time he pulled. "Darn it! I can't move!"

"Me, too!" Gohan even tried to raise his energy to escape from their clutches, but he cannot at all.

Zaacro and Raiti continued to laugh, their sinister laughter echoing throughout the skies, which had made the entire place transform into a different landscape entirely. The Namekians suddenly transformed into light red-shaded aliens with freakish features. Their yellow eyes bobbed out and went in different directions, their claws and feet were shaped unnaturally as well as their tongues and antennas. In simplest terms, they just looked hideous.

Gohan was shocked. "Aah! They're not Namekians! They're aliens!"

"AAH!" Bulma screamed in fright.

The entire planet changed in appearance as well. The once lively green trees and forests had turned into dull, gray caves and canyons. The grasses that were filled with delicate flowers had transformed into gray grounds, rocks, and boulders. The clear skies were suddenly covered with rain clouds, which looked like it will rain for eternity. The entire planet had turned dreary and strange.

Even the DragonBalls themselves had transformed into nothing more but plain rocks.

All this time, everything was just a cunning illusion.

"You-you tricked us! Why you!" Bulma gnashed her teeth together.

Zaacro just laughed. "Hah, hah! You should've listened to your friends earlier ago, but you guys are just too foolish!"

"We need to get out of here!" Krillin struggled.

Gohan was doing his best to escape from this web. "Rrrgh, I'm trying, but I can't get out!"

"You _can't_ get out!" Raiti told them, laughing hysterically. "Now with your ship readily available for us, we can finally get out of this filthy planet for good. Hah, hah!"

However, they were too busy talking to the three whom they had trapped in their web, they almost forgot about two important people.

Bardock stepped forward with his arms folded. "I believe you're the ones who're fooling yourselves this whole time."

Zaacro and Raiti turned around, but they continued to keep their evil grins on their faces, seeing the two Saiyans as no threat to them. It was either they were too confident in their abilities to be able to beat them actually or they had no clue who these Saiyans were and the astonishing capabilities they can carry.

"Those looks on your faces…you have no idea who you're messing with, aren't you?" asked Raditz with a grin.

The two creatures did not flinch still. In fact, they confronted them and were actually prepared to do battle.

"Your pride and ego's too big that you can't even see what lies ahead of you!" Raiti declared. "Your friends here will be our appetizers and you two will be our main courses. Prepare yourselves!"

Bardock grunted and closed his eyes. "Okay then…but let me warn you, you can't beat us," he declared to him this time. He looked up and pulled off a wider grin.

Raditz stepped forward this time and demanded from them, "We'll give you a chance though to avoid any confrontations from us. You let them go now if you know what's good for you."

Zaacro and Raiti did not heed to their words. They now prepared in their fighting stances.

"So be it…," Raditz grinned wider.

The two hideous creatures moved forward and tried to do hand-to-hand combat with them, but they quickly realized that Bardock and Raditz did not have to make any efforts. They did not budge one bit, not even a slight inch just to evade their moves. In fact, the Saiyans were letting their enemies' fists hit their faces and bodies and they simply stood there straight and firm like carved statues with uninterested looks. They were not even hurt one bit.

Zaacro and Raiti soon took into understand they were falling faster to their dooms sooner than they thought.

"Aah! Impossible! I've never met anyone who's this powerful!" Zaacro cried out anxiously. "Wha-what are you?!"

Bardock and Raditz chuckled under their breaths.

"Well, that explains a lot now," Bardock smirked.

Both father and son then took their turns. With just one move, they sent powerful, direct fists to their stomachs. Their foe's shrill cries of pain only revealed how weak they actually were. Zaacro and Raiti quickly fell to their knees, weakened by the Saiyans' shocking, insurmountable powers.

The enemies were clearly defeated and as a result, Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan were finally set free from the web. They fell to the ground, but they tried to keep their balances intact. Behind them, the web disintegrated and the threads vanished into thin-air.

Gohan stood up and bent his elbows to his waist. "Grandpa Bardock and Uncle Raditz were right all along. We should've listened to them in the first place."

"Yeah," Krillin agreed with what he said, "but at least it's over now."

The fight was not done, however, as Zaacro and Raiti were persistent enough or at least to the Z-fighters' eyes, too stubborn that they had to challenge the Saiyans again as if they had not learned at all.

"No!" Raiti yelled with anger. "We will get what we want and we will!"

He and his comrade were prepared to confront Bardock and Raditz again. The two Saiyans stood there, already anticipating what the likely outcome will be. Before their foes could land a move though, Krillin and Gohan appeared in front of Bardock and Raditz and they decided that they themselves should conclude this irrelevant fight once and for all.

"We'll take care of this!" they both said in unison as they leaped in air, sending front kicks to their enemies' chins, jerking their heads back. They fell to the ground, almost unconscious.

"Whoo!" Krillin then did the fist-bump to Gohan in which Gohan did the same.

Bulma was still on her knees, still disgusted by the looks of these creatures.

Zaacro and Raiti struggled to stand now on their own two legs. While they tried to move their bodies, Bardock came up to them, his shadowing looming over these imposters.

Bardock's grin had suddenly faded away and now, in his eyes, there was anger in them. He began to lecture them for some reason, "You being able to read our minds had allowed you to discover our intentions, but there's only one thing that disgusts me. How dare you make up stories involving _that_ foolish overlord just to instill fear in us. You think this is all a game to you?!" he raised his voice.

Zaacro and Raiti trembled in fear. The message had finally gotten across for them. All they could do now was to beg on their knees and asked him to spare them.

Bulma, Gohan, and Krillin heard what Bardock said. Apparently, this "overlord" that Zaacro and Raiti had mentioned once seemed to have a connection with Bardock. They were beginning to wonder who this overlord was. For some reason, by instincts, they wondered if this "overlord" had some sort of connection with Frieza, but they thought that was absolutely ridiculous.

Only Raditz knew whom he was talking about. He lowered his head a little with shadows casting over his eyes.

Bardock thought he should just give their enemies a good beating, but Zaacro and Raiti surrendered and really begged him to spare them.

"Please, we'll leave you alone now! You don't understand! We don't have any taste of violence!" Raiti struggled.

"We never fought before in our lives," Zaacro added.

Krillin growled. "Then why did you try to attack us anyway?"

Raiti and Zaacro looked at each other and they just shrugged their shoulders, actually having no clue why they did that.

Bardock crossed his arms again and stared at one angle. "Even their intellect's pretty bad…"

Bulma then stood up, actually angrier than ever. If there was one thing that will make her fully irritated and embarrassed, it was a joke that was being played on her especially that she was the one who dragged herself into this mess. She stomped her way towards their ship. "Come on, let's move! It's about time we go to the _real_ Planet Namek!"

The rest shrugged their shoulders and they followed Bulma from behind.

"I guess this is a goodbye, guys!" Krillin waved at the fake Namekians.

"Enjoy the rest of your days here," Bulma waved her hand, not bothering to look at them though.

"Thanks for the food, I guess," Gohan laughed to himself while Raditz and Bardock just kept on walking.

Zaacro and Raiti still staggered from the pain the Z-fighters gave them. "Ow…you're welcome…"

The Z-fighters headed back to their ship. They immediately took off and left, leaving the stranded, fake Namekians behind.

Zaacro asked his friend, "Oh well, what can we do now?"

Raiti complained, "Not sure, but we're stuck in this planet forever!"

The Z-warriors took a brief rest inside the ship before going back to their normal chores and training.

Everyone was quiet for some reason. Actually, it was more of Bulma who was keeping herself too quiet. The rest only stared at her.

Bulma was making adjustments and plotting in coordinates to the ship. She then sat on her chair and gave a pouted look.

"Okay," Krillin broke the silence. "I guess the real Namek will be the real deal, huh, Gohan?"

"Yeah, of course!" Gohan tried to add some cheer to the air.

Raditz and Bardock went by to Bulma's side to read the data shown on the radar screen of the controls of the ship. There was a small box on the bottom left corner of the monitor, which showed the distance they had traveled so far as well as the duration of time. It also had the name of their destination displayed there.

Bulma did not bother to look at the Saiyans though. She had an annoyed look.

The two knew what she was thinking though, but they decided to leave her alone for a while. They were about to go back to their rooms.

"Hey, guys," Bulma suddenly called them, but it can be heard that she was clearly struggling with her words. "About what happened earlier ago…"

Bardock and Raditz listened to her.

She was hesitant to say what was in her head though. Then, a sudden mood swing hit her. She stood up and made her way towards the kitchen. "Ugh! What I'm trying to say is that it's a good thing we knew about the true colors of Raiti and Zaacro, but even you two would've been fooled, you know, if you guys were just as gullible as us! Oh, whatever, let's just forget about what happened," she opened the refrigerator and took out a slice of leftover cake she baked yesterday.

Krillin knew exactly what she was trying to say. He decided to translate it for them. "I think what she meant to say is she apologizes for being too bossy and for not listening to you guys as much."

Bulma heard what he said and she yelled at him, "Krillin, be quiet, will you?!"

Bardock and Raditz could not help but chuckle lightly to themselves. They told her though, "Apology accepted."

The rest had a hearty laugh while Bulma continued to eat her cake in bittersweet silence.


	6. Approaching Darkness

Episode 51

Approaching Darkness

 _B-dmp…B-dmp…B-dmp…B-dmp…_

In that unknown planet, where Vegeta went to have his wounds treated, he was placed inside an isolation chamber tank, which can help him to heal faster. Medicinal water to let his wounded flesh be medicated and his frayed nerves to be more relaxed surrounded him. His life meter ran very steadily. Vegeta had barely energy left to move, his senses almost completely shutting down from enduring such heavy combat. The only sounds he could hear now in his aching, unconscious mind was his heart beating.

As the Prince of all Saiyans slept, his mind was still in a state of rage. His dreams, as he slept, constantly became nightmares. He could never forget his humiliating defeat back on Earth. He recalled how Goku, a low-class soldier, was able to spill blood from a noble. Goku showed new, unrelenting strength no other Saiyan had possessed. Vegeta thought after all his years of training and fighting as a true prince brought him great reputation in which he can declare himself as the strongest being in the universe; however, his beliefs and pride had been proven wrong. They were all wrong after Goku, his older brother, Raditz, who changed at heart, their father, Bardock, who had survived the terrible destruction of their home planet, and the rest of their friends, who showed great courage and faith in battle even if they were about to lose, were able to stand up to him. In reality, Vegeta was beaten countless times. First, when Goku fired his powerful Kamehameha wave in his Kaioken state to overtake his Galick Gun. Second, when Yajirobe ended his Great Ape transformation as he sliced off his tail. And finally, when Bardock had suddenly gained a renewed power in him and defeated him with the dynamic Spirit Bomb. It was just his obstinate attitude and huge pride that kept denying the odds, but now, the painful reality had already set in.

The more he recalled these events though, the more rage burnt inside his heart.

 _"I will…I will return!"_ Vegeta screamed in his mind, his face started to show more this emotion of rage. _"And once I do…I'll have my revenge!"_

On Planet Earth, Goku himself was doing pretty well at the hospital. Even though he always tried his best to follow his doctor's orders of staying in bed, his love for fighting always had him sneak in some exercise drills while no one was looking. Of course, his wife was always there and she was constantly supervising him, but even with her being by his side, Goku could not help himself.

"Hyah!" Goku yelled, throwing an immediate punch in air.

Chi-Chi was surprised and she fell down from her chair. "Aah!"

And the other patients were disturbed from Goku's yell as well.

Goku was lying in bed, trying to rest, but he just could not lie still. He was trying to see if his strength had fully returned by throwing that punch, but he was disappointed that he had not fully healed yet.

After a long pause, he just realized his wife was angrily staring at him. "Huh?" he asked.

Chi-Chi was immediately in a bad mood after she fell from her chair, and so, she smacked Goku on the forehead.

"Goku, what was that all about?! You almost hit me!" Chi-Chi fussed at him.

Goku placed a hand on his head. "Ouch! That hurt…"

"Why can't you just stay still and take a nap or something? Act like a normal patient for goodness' sake! Don't you know every time you do that, you're bothering everyone?" Chi-Chi scolded at her hardheaded husband.

"But I'm not a normal patient!" Goku complained, struggling to do more punches, but the casts wrapped around his arms kept them close to him. "I'm a fighter! I really wish I could just get better already and leave this hospital now."

"Goku," Chi-Chi sat back on her chair and continued to do her hobby. One of her hobbies was sewing and she can be seen sewing a small sweater, "in order to make yourself better, you need to rest. And don't stress yourself out!"

Goku noticed what she was knitting and gave a cute smile. "Oh, it's that gonna be for me?" he happily asked her.

"Goku, do you really think you can fit into this?" Chi-Chi showed him the size of it. "But I'm about to make you one after this though."

Goku pulled the blankets over his chest to keep himself warm. "Really? Thanks!"

Even though Chi-Chi was still irritated with her husband at times, she admitted that she will always cherish his forever kind and innocent nature from him.

Far into the great distances of the galaxies and stars, Bardock, Raditz, Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan continued to travel in space, but they were very close in reaching the real Planet Namek. They were quite nervous to see what the planet had in store for them.

Inside the training area, Raditz was standing in the middle of the room with his eyes closed, his body unmoving. His mind was in a state of great awareness. For the past few weeks, he was learning how to detect people's energies by using his own senses and he was quickly mastering the technique.

Krillin and Gohan were in the gravity room, training with him, and they tried to sneak up from behind Raditz. They kept themselves in silence while preparing to attack him at will.

Raditz slowly opened his eyes and was able to detect Krillin's energy to his left. He immediately turned to that side and evaded his attack by swaying his entire body. Afterwards, Gohan, as unnoticeable as he can be, flew to him, his right hand drawn back. He thought he was going to get a successful hit, but Raditz blocked his punch with his elbow. The three briefly exchanged blows before ending their short practice.

"Woah, impressive!" Krillin told him. "You can really detect energies now. That's good. You just keep on practicing and you'll master it no time."

Raditz nodded.

"Uncle Raditz, do you know how to suppress your energy, too?" asked Gohan.

"Yeah, your grandfather's been teaching me that," Raditz said.

"Now you're learning the true skills of a real master," Krillin proudly pointed to himself.

Raditz and Gohan had no comment on what he said, however.

"Oh, come on, guys!" Krillin tried to convince them that he was, probably not the best master, but at least a good one.

The three had been training for an hour now and they decided to take five. Raditz sat near the door and drank water to hydrate himself. Krillin and Gohan were resting their bodies. As for Bardock, he was actually in his room, taking a quick nap before warming himself up for an intensive training session. He thought he may need this one last practice before stepping into Namek.

While taking their break, Krillin and Gohan were wondering for some time now about the words "galactic overlord" that they kept hearing about lately. They decided to ask Raditz about it.

Raditz took a long pause before he could finally answer them. Just hearing these two words always put him in unpleasant spirits. His emotion can be seen when he began to grip his water bottle tight.

Gohan and Krillin noticed his expression and now, they were more curious than ever to find out what had been bothering Raditz and Bardock lately.

Raditz could only say this for now. "That terrible emperor…was the one who destroyed the Saiyans' home planet…we've always been like this. We swore that we'll find him soon…to take back what's rightfully ours."

And then, he fell silent again.

Gohan and Krillin now looked at each other. They respected him as they decided not to ask any more questions about it. In time, they would just have to learn more about this emperor themselves. All they knew now was that _he_ was definitely Raditz and Bardock's sworn enemy.

As for Vegeta, his healing process was almost complete. In fact, he was restoring to health much faster than usual. Perhaps his own Saiyan pride was the only part of his being now that was keeping him alive.

An operator soon came in who was definitely alien. He was wearing a white coat with a clipboard in hand. He was the one who was monitoring Vegeta's life signals. When he read the progress he was making, he was surprised. "Amazing. He's better already?"

The operator then pushed in a few buttons and the water inside the tank immediately went down the drain. Once the water was gone, Vegeta slowly opened his eyes bit by bit.

He was fully awake, almost reborn, but the heavy rage in his chest fired up even more. He tightened his fists. It was the time for the Saiyan Prince to rise once again.

Several hours had passed. Vegeta was in full recovery and he was now putting on his brand new Saiyan armor.

"Care to tell me what happened, Vegeta?" the operator asked him. "Or is the wound to your ego still too broad to be examined? Judging by the way your armor had received the fractures than be seen here, you were involved in a difficult battle…and that's putting to it lightly," he was examining his battle-damaged armor that he wore back on Earth.

Vegeta remained silent. He sat down on a chair and slipped on his new boots.

"If you're entertaining any ideas for revenge, I highly suggest you'd forget about them. I might not be able to put you back in one piece this time," he stated a true fact.

The Saiyan Prince was not paying attention to him at all. He was only thinking about his memories of his ravaging battle back on Earth. To feel the incessant mortification plaguing his mind, he abhorred the feeling of it.

After Vegeta wore his new Saiyan armor, he questioned seriously, "Tell me, is Lord Frieza here?"

The operator shook his head, saying he left to go somewhere with his henchmen, but he had no idea where he went exactly.

Vegeta crossed his arms. "I hope you're not lying to me. I'm in no mood."

"Perhaps Cui could help you find him," the alien suggested. "I think he's still at the training center. You better hurry now before he leaves as well."

The Saiyan Prince was not interested in meeting him. "I think not. I have more important things to do. If you ever hear a word from Lord Frieza, tell him that I've been looking for him."

"But Vegeta…," the operator said, but he was already leaving. He then looked at the table that prince was using earlier and realized his scouter was still there. "Hold on, Sir, your scouter!"

He continued to walk away. "Keep it. I have no use for it anymore."

Vegeta walked in the dimmed hallway with so many thoughts spiraling in his head. He had been meaning to go back to Earth at some point to have his revenge on Goku and his family, but he was also reminded about Planet Namek and its mysterious DragonBalls.

He was still thinking about his wish, his desire for immortality.

His thoughts were intruded when another alien soldier came up to him. He wore a similar armor to Vegeta only with a different color scheme. He had a green scouter on his left eye. His skin was all violet with a few black speckles on him and he had two, short antennas sticking out from his cheeks.

Vegeta hated to see him. He had no time to talk to Cui now.

"Well, well, Vegeta, I heard you took a beating recently. Hah, hah, hah!" Cui laughed. "Now that's unusual for an elite Saiyan like you. And if I heard correctly, you were also beaten up by a third-class soldier."

"Drop it, Cui!" Vegeta spat at him. If he had let his emotions take over his self-control, he would have pounded him to a pulp already. "This gossip needs to stop. I don't want to waste my time with half-wits like you."

Vegeta passed him and was about to leave until Cui stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder plate. "Don't be hasty, Vegeta. I received an evaluation from Lord Frieza recently and he told me that he hasn't been happy with your attitude."

Vegeta scoffed. "Just let Frieza try to do something about it."

Cui became nervous by the Saiyan's response. He was surprised how he could be so open to be disrespectful to Frieza like that especially for not addressing him with the proper title. "Wha-what did you say? How dare you speak to Lord Frieza like that!"

"How dare _you_ for wasting my precious time. Now take your hand off of me," Vegeta demanded from him.

Cui quickly let go of Vegeta as he was more nervous to hear this kind of tone from him. He soon realized that the words he spoken conveyed a much deeper meaning. Cui began to smirk and told him if he was planning to do anything behind Frieza's back or against the emperor himself, he was making a grave mistake.

Vegeta completely ignored him.

Cui had to remind him, "Your pride will really get to you again. Let me put it in simplest terms. Frieza is invincible!"

Vegeta's temper rose up and faced Cui. He thundered, "Enough already! Just tell me where _he_ is!"

Cui replied in a proud voice, "To Planet Namek."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. Did he just say Namek? He felt worried while also feeling more livid than ever. Why would Frieza be doing there in the first place? His question was immediately answered in his head though when he was reminded again about the special powers of the DragonBalls.

Cui knew exactly what he was thinking. He had always known that Vegeta and his companion, Nappa, had talked about plans for immortality before they headed to Earth and now, to see that look on his face had made him known what Vegeta's true intentions were at this moment.

He laughed at the Saiyan Prince again. "Hah! If you're thinking about the DragonBalls, then you might just be a bit too late, Vegeta. Lord Frieza might've found all of them most likely and when he does, we'll destroy the planet!"

Vegeta was greatly enraged. He cannot waste any time now. He needed to race against time before Frieza could have his way. He sprinted to the other direction, leaving everything behind. He must go to Namek as soon as he can.

"H-hey! Where are you going?!" Cui was caught by surprise. He was afraid that this Saiyan elite could try to thwart Frieza's plans and being one of his loyal servants, he must not let that happen.

Vegeta was still running, passing by the operator who was treating him earlier ago. He then noticed the red scouter in his hands. He stopped at a complete halt and stared at it for a moment. "Wait a sec…," he then suddenly snatched the device and ran off with it.

"What?" asked the operator, a bit confused.

"I think I'll be needing this, Doc!" Vegeta told him, using the scouter as his back-up. He quickly went outside and went back to his Saiyan pod. It had been thoroughly cleaned and repaired several hours ago. He sat inside his ship, plot in the coordinates, and without delay, he departed as soon as possible.

Cui came outside and tried to stop Vegeta from leaving, but he was too late. The Saiyan elite had taken off without leaving a trace behind.

Vegeta placed his red scouter on his left eye. He then declared to all of his adversaries, "I won't take any more orders from you, Frieza. Prepare yourself. I'll be the one who'll get all those DragonBalls and once I do, I'll be unstoppable!"

His space pod shot off once again into the galaxies.

There was now complete and utter silence, but evil continued to remain.

Four days had passed.

On Earth, at the hospital, Chi-Chi had a bouquet of flowers and she gave it Goku and had him hold it. She had to clean out the old flowers first placed on top of the window in Goku's bedroom.

Goku tried to smell the flowers, but instead, he sneezed. "Achoo!"

I hope you're not allergic to flowers," Chi-Chi said.

"No, the petals just tickled me," Goku rubbed his nose.

"You know, I was thinking, Goku," Chi-Chi began to say, sharing what was in her head lately.

Goku looked over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"Our little boy has been gone for almost a month now…," Chi-Chi said, sounding a bit sad.

Goku tried to see what she was trying to say. "…yeah? And…?"

"And I think I forgot to pack his toe-nail clippers," Chi-Chi now thought about it.

Goku almost got a cramp not because from his old injuries, but the fact that his wife was only thinking about the belongings she packed for Gohan. He was quite amazed by her impressive memory though of the things she packed in those bags.

"I'm sure he'll be fine without it. I thought you packed those clippers for his fingernails," Goku said.

"Yeah, but they don't work for toenails though," Chi-Chi said.

"I'm sure he's fine with what he got, so don't worry," Goku tried to ease her mind. He then began to chuckle under his breath.

"Hmm, what?" Chi-Chi asked him, uncertain why he was laughing.

"You're worrying over his stuff that he packed for trip, but I'm surprised you're not worried that Gohan's going to a strange, new world out there," Goku explained himself. He continued to laugh.

Chi-Chi growled at him. "Rrrgh, can't you read my face, Goku?! Of course I'm worried to death about that, too! Who knows if Gohan has to encounter some mean aliens out there!"

Goku tried to calm her down again. "I know what you mean, Chi-Chi, but hey, our friends, his grandfather, and uncle are there to protect him. Not to mention, Gohan is quite the fighter, too, so I'm sure he's gonna be fine."

She cannot decide herself if her husband was being too overly positive about the situation or if he was too gullible to see what really lied ahead. She had to ask him back, "Tell me, Goku, aren't you worried about our boy also? And about your friends out there, even your dad and brother?"

Goku may be smiling and maybe it was always in his nature to smile even in times like these, but certainly, he also had feelings.

He was half-frowning as well. "…don't get me wrong, Chi-Chi. Of course, I'm also worried. Heck, even worse than that…"

There was a moment of silence. Goku was thinking deeply now while his wife stared at him in wonder.

" _That's why…I wish I could get better soon. I have a bad feeling…they're going to encounter some trouble out there…,"_ Goku thought to himself.

There was a knock on the door and Goku's doctor came in along with a few nurses. The doctor cleared his throat and told his patient, "Mr. Goku, your appointment for your vaccine shot is today at this time."

"Eep!" Goku cringed when he heard that. He shivered with anxiety. "Wa-wait, that-that's to-today?!"

Meanwhile, Bardock had finished his nap. He planned to get a quick snack before he resumed training. Still half-asleep, he made his way towards the kitchen. He saw Bulma in the main interior of the ship, sitting on her pilot seat. She was plugged in, listening to music and humming to it.

"Hmm," Bardock made his way towards the kitchen and grabbed all the food he can find. His definition of a quick snack was analogous to half of a Saiyan's lunch meal.

Bulma was able to hear him going through the fridge. She took off one of her earplugs. "Hey, Bardock, you're awake."

"Yeah," Bardock ran his hand against his hair. "By the way, do you know what day it is?"

"Hmm, I guess we're at day 22nd now. Our trip took less than a month, really," Bulma said.

"Namek should be pretty close," Bardock believed.

"Yeah, if we don't encounter any space objects or obstacles, we should be getting there in a couple of hours," Bulma read on the screen.

To hear that they were only hours from reaching their real destination, Bardock actually had mixed feelings about it.

Then out came Gohan, Krillin, and Raditz who just finished practicing their skills from the gravity room. They will continue to train though, but mentally this time such as meditation and image-training.

"Hey, Grandpa Bardock," Gohan greeted him. "Guess what? Uncle Raditz can sense energies now."

"Well, I'm still working on it," Raditz gave a soft smile. "They've been good instructors. I can't believe my own nephew can teach me."

Gohan laughed in response.

Krillin saw all the food that Bardock gathered from the fridge on the center aisle. "Woah, is that all for you? But we just ate lunch like three hours ago!"

Bardock chuckled, placing his elbows against the countertop. "Guess you'll never get used to a Saiyan's appetite, huh?"

"Probably not," Krillin laughed.

Bulma stood up from her seat and approached them. "Well, guys, I already told Bardock about this, but we're on day 22nd now, Wednesday of May. We should be getting to Namek in a couple of hours if everything goes well."

Raditz suddenly raised an eyebrow. He glanced to his right to check out the calendar that was attached near the window. "Isn't that the day…?"

"-that when we get to Namek?" Gohan finished for him. "Of course, Uncle Raditz!" he thought he was silly for saying this.

"No, not that. I just remembered that it's when Kakarot's scheduled for his vaccine shots," Raditz remembered.

Everyone in the room was surprised how he could have known that.

"He told me," Raditz simply said.

After thinking about it for some more, Bardock had finally remembered that, too, of this date. "Oh yeah, I do remember that, but if I can recall…didn't you tell me, Raditz, that Kakarot's… _afraid_ of needles?" he emphasized that word.

Raditz considered what his father said. He _did_ remember a time like that. He remembered back in their home planet when his brother was just born, he was given flu shots to protect him from any kinds of common illnesses. Raditz was there, he perfectly well knew of that memory.

Raditz was a teenager around this time, about fourteen years old, and he was assigned to go on a mission. To his relief, he will have to wait for approximately three hours before he needed to leave for his next assignment. Right now, he was resting and also visiting his baby brother, Goku, who was just born this very early morning about 4:30 A.M.

The young warrior had his arms crossed, standing there in silence. He was watching through the plate glass wall between him and his younger brother who was snuggled in his crib. His father, Bardock, was out on a mission with his crew. As all Saiyan babies were, Goku will be leaving on a mission in the next twelve hours. Saiyan babies always possessed a very high power level when they were born. For that reason, the strengths of Saiyan babies were usually taken advantage of by sending them off to their assigned planets with the inhabitants matching the infant's calculated strength. They may be too young and even too frail, but they were all destined to fight.

Then, a doctor and his assistant approached the sleeping Goku.

"All right, let's see here…Kakarot, that's your name. It's time for your shots," the doctor said. He gently held the newborn baby from his crib, wakening the child. He wondered where he was going.

Raditz watched as he was being taken to the check-up room.

The doctor placed Goku on the mattress and then took out the needles all sealed and protected in caps. He took out the first injection shot.

"Okay, Kakarot, this will hurt a little bit, but it'll be fine at the end," said the doctor.

Goku watched as the needle approached his little, plump arms. The sharp point had actually gotten him interested of this object. He was calm at first, but when the needle came in contact of his skin and the vaccine was injected, the people working in the building had to cover their ears.

"WAAAH!" Goku cried so loudly, his piercing wails can be heard throughout the entire building. It hurt so badly for him, he could not take it all.

"Woah! That's one loud Saiyan baby right there!" remarked the doctor.

"That's right. I've never heard such a loud cry before," said his assistant.

The young infant cried and wailed, pounding on his mattress. Unfortunately, the doctor needed to give him two more shots. When he tried to give him the rest of the vaccines, Goku learned very quickly that this needle was not to his liking. He squirmed around wildly, kicking everything that was in his way. The assistant had no choice but to call Raditz to the doctor's office in order to keep his baby brother calm.

Raditz did not want to help, but he had no choice, however. He entered the door while thinking to himself, _"Why'd I have to? It's just a lousy needle. Even a low-class soldier can handle it."_

Most Saiyan babies will feel little to no pain when they were given the vaccines they needed; a slight tear may come out from their eyes though, but apparently, Goku was the only one who showed, by far, the worse fear towards needles.

Raditz got a hold of his panicky and wild brother eventually, but Goku's fear of needles almost made him loosen his grip on him especially that he was just an infant, he cannot hold him too tightly. Goku was quite strong when he was a baby, but since he only possessed a power level of two, for the Saiyans, it was a definite sign that Goku was just a third-class warrior.

"Kakarot, stay still!" Raditz demanded.

And Goku would just hit and kick, trying to escape himself from this nightmare. Eventually, he got his needed shots, but took the doctor close to thirty minutes to complete the procedure. After that, Goku immediately became a quiet and calm boy as if nothing had happened.

"Now that's a sudden shift in mood," said the doctor, almost laughing.

Raditz felt really embarrassed. It was only a needle and his brother should not be so afraid of it, but then he also wondered, was he like that too when he was a kid?

"I have to ask my dad when he comes back," Raditz said to himself while taking his younger brother back to his crib.

After that flashback, the now full-grown Raditz rubbed his forehead. "Oh man…"

At the hospital back on Earth, it was exactly what Raditz had envisioned. Screams of fright can be heard across the hospital and yes, those piercing cries came from Goku. He almost looked like a child, exposing his greatest phobia ever: needles. Several nurses were called to restrain Goku on his bed and keep him calm, but it did nothing to calm his phobia for sharp objects. Goku's teeth chattered, his levels of anxiety way beyond than he could handle. He shook his head back and forth and screamed. Master Roshi was there including Chi-Chi. To their eyes, it was unlike Goku to be afraid of such little things.

"AAH! NO, PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT A NEEDLE!" Goku begged.

The doctor though had to do his job. He checked the syringe to see if the amount of liquid inside was the right amount. Goku helplessly stared at the pointed object and shouted once again after a short period of silence. "Eerr…AAH! Please don't do it!"

"Oh, boy…" Master Roshi sighed. "Goku, do I need to also train you not to fear needles?"

But the terrified, baby-like Saiyan continued to shout and cry which made the doctor scratch his head. "Please calm down! I haven't struck you yet!" he told him.

Chi-Chi felt very embarrassed. She thought that the behavior of her husband was displaying was just pathetic. When their child, Gohan, was born, he did not cry a single bit when he got his very first flu shot! Goku suddenly stopped screaming after hearing what she said.

"It's ironic how my husband can fight an epic battle to save the world," Chi-Chi said, "yet can't win over a tiny needle! I bet your father and brother are not like this."

"Yeah, but you don't understand!" Goku shook his head. "I've always hated needles! Sometimes about them when I was a baby…I don't know," he cannot remember anything, but that painful sensation always stuck with him since the day he was born, "I just really, really hate it!"

"Then what are you going to do about it, Goku?!" Chi-Chi asked, having another argument with him. "It's either you get this shot or get sick. It's your choice!"

Goku gulped hard, still quivering from fear. "But, Chi-Chi, isn't there another alternative to needles? Doc, tell me that there is!"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Goku, but on this day and age, what we only have so far is just injection shots."

Goku cannot help but shriek again.

Chi-Chi cannot take anymore of his endless screaming, she decided to leave the room for a moment. "Just stop it, Goku. You keep complaining that you wanna get out of this hospital, so you had better take that shot or else. I'm gonna leave you for a while. I have things to catch up on," she then suddenly left the room without another word. The truth was, she was still irritated at her husband and so, she needed time to keep cool.

"Chi-Chi, wait," Goku tried to stop her because he wanted her to be near his side, but it was too late. He sighed sadly. "Ooh…," and he had quickly forgotten about his shot, too.

The doctor continued with his task."Now, I promise. You won't feel a thing if you just relax your muscles."

And when he gave Goku that vaccine he needed, Goku just realized it was not over yet. "WAAAH!" he cried out desperately.

A few hours later, the Z-warriors were now seen all strapped in their seats. They were minutes away from entering Planet Namek. Bulma had a good grip on the steering wheel, their ship all set for landing. She was making all the necessary adjustments and calculations using the controls and computer system. Their entrance will only take a few minutes and in that moment, their hunt for the DragonBalls will begin.

"All right, guys," Bulma was very excited. "Make sure you're all buckled up. It's gonna get a little bumpy."

Krillin and Gohan were just as thrilled as Bulma was. Raditz kept himself calm and a smile can be seen on his face. He glanced at his father to see how he was reacting to this, but it was the complete opposite of what he thought of. He saw him with his hand was on his forehead and he was looking away as if he did not want anyone to see what he was feeling.

Raditz grew concerned about him. He had a huge guess it must be his gift of foresight, giving him visions all at once.

And yes, he was right. Bardock was seeing visions again in his head and they filled his mind. He kept seeing the same visions for the past few days and even now, he continued to witness them repeatedly. He was seeing that vision again of that noteworthy foe facing a being in golden light. He also saw that image once more of this enemy, gazing at these orange-colored gems in front of him. Not only that, he was seeing other visions of unfamiliar aliens who appeared to have evil intentions. There was only one vision, which made him very worried. He saw these innocent creatures, lying on the ground helpless, injured, and some lying in their own pool of blood.

"Are you ready, guys?!" Bulma asked all of them, getting them motivated for their adventure.

"Yeah!" Krillin and Gohan shouted in unison.

The half-Saiyan turned around. "Are you ready, Uncle, Grandpa-? H-huh?"

Gohan also saw what was going on with his grandfather. He, too, was concerned about him. "Hey, are you okay, Grandpa Bardock?"

Raditz wished he could say something to his nephew, but he cannot.

Finally, the visions had left Bardock and all that was left behind in his conscious now was complete emptiness. Bardock knew his eldest son and grandson were seeing the behavior he was displaying now, but he did not want Gohan, even Krillin and Bulma to know about his secret yet. Trying to act as normal as he can be, he released his hand from his forehead and looked up front, displaying a serious look to give the impression he was only vigilant to his surroundings.

"I'm fine," Bardock said.

Gohan doubted his words though while Raditz wished he could do something to help him out.

"All right, prepare for landing!" Bulma announced.

Their ship slowly passed the exosphere and quickly entered the atmosphere. Light streaks of spark and cosmic fire surrounded the ship as the gravity of the planet pulled them immensely. Their speed increased every second, creating a heavy turbulence. After passing through the white clouds and tall canyons and mountains, they surfaced on flat grounds with success.

The Z-fighters took a while to adjust themselves before realizing they had officially entered a strange, new world, a lone planet called "Namek." This rush of thrill filled their hearts, they were pumped up to begin their adventure.

Everyone cheered.

"Whoo!" Bulma raised her arms up high. "Now somebody needs to give me a nice compliment about my landing skills! 'Cause I sure got 'em!"

They unfastened their seat belts and immediately explored their surroundings through the window. This was definitely the real Planet Namek and its appearance was accurate with King Kai's description of it when he said that the planet was still going through a lot of changes after enduring instability and radical changes in the atmosphere in the past. The planet had about two to three trees on each cliff. The surface had a few, tall grasses sticking out from it. The sky was colored mint-green and the bodies of water looked dull and opaque.

Bardock placed a hand on the glass window. "It's just the same as it was thirty years ago…"

"And more than that," Raditz said.

Bulma was packing all the necessary belongings for their trip. "Okay, now we're not sure how much there's oxygen in Namek, that's why I brought along these oxygen tanks. If they ever run out, we can refill them with more air and…huh?" she realized that she may be talking to herself. She turned around and noticed that the exit door was open. Gohan, Krillin, Raditz, and Bardock were already outside.

Bulma was so shocked, her hair literally spiked up and became so aggravated with them, she ought to give them a piece of her mind.

Gohan touched the grasses with his hands. "It kinda looks like Earth."

Krillin placed his hands inside his pockets. "It does sorta look like home, but this silence is way too creepy. So, Bardock, Raditz, you told us you've seen pictures of this planet before."

"Yeah," Bardock replied.

"It really looks all the same," Raditz looked around, "as it was before."

Everybody continued to stay where they were until…

"What are you DOING?!"A furious Bulma screamed at them, almost making them fall on their backs. "You guys went out without asking me if it's okay to go out?! What if you just ran outside without ANY OXYGEN?!

Everyone was startled by her sudden holler.

"Bulma! Come on, you freaked us out!" Krillin told her.

"Please don't do that again, Bulma," Gohan asked her a favor.

Raditz and Bardock growled in response.

Bulma scoffed. She demanded them that they stop moving and keep to where they were until it was safe for them to go. She then took out her Dragon Radar and pressed the button on top. The screen turned on and to her amazement as well as everyone's, there were already five DragonBalls neatly placed in one common place! Only two DragonBalls were spotted in different locations.

"Wow!" Bulma grabbed their attentions. "I guess we don't have to do extra work, guys. Most of the DragonBalls can be found in one spot. I have a hunch that these Namekians are keeping them for safety reasons or something."

"I just hope they're not thinking of making any wishes at this time," Krillin chuckled a little.

"I'm sure they won't. All right, guys!" Bulma laughed with joy, knowing that their wishes will be granted very soon. With so much happiness in her, she decided to dance with Krillin. Krillin was taken by surprise at first, but he soon danced along with her although he felt quite timid to do so.

Bardock and Raditz watched them with amusement while Gohan laughed along. They were almost convinced their adventure will pose no problems at all.

Abruptly though, the instincts of the Z-warriors had heightened as they unexpectedly felt this cluster of enormous energies from a far distance. To their worry, these life forces they were sensing were not ordinary, but were not trustworthy either. In fact, they were filled with such…malice.

"What is this?" Raditz questioned, turning around.

Bulma and Krillin stopped dancing and wondered what was going on. Bulma thought her friends were getting a little too tensed these days. She reasoned with them that these energies they were sensing must be the Namekians who lived here. Considering Piccolo possessed a high power level before, she supposed that his fellow people could have the same kind of strength as his, too. She assured them there was no threat at all.

But the Z-warriors needed to be honest with her. There was this one power level that was quite tremendous and no question, menacing. They can never come from the Namekians after learning they were usually peaceful creatures.

Krillin felt out these life forces and he, too, became quite anxious about them. "You guys are right. They're…enormous actually!"

"And really different," Gohan sensed.

Bardock stood dormant, in troubled silence. All he could hear now was the beating of his anxious heart. He did not like the feel of this.

"…!"

Suddenly, in just the blink of an eye, two shadows swiftly moved in air. And before they knew it, two laser beams were shot of nowhere and they blasted their ship.

"AAH!" Bulma screamed, holding her hands over her head. She immediately hid behind Krillin and Raditz for protection.

"What?!" the rest turned around and quickly noticed there were two alien beings who looked nothing like Namekians. Instead, they were dressed in armors similar to Raditz's and Bardock's. They had launchers attached to their right arms as their choice of artillery.

"Intruders, I see!" one of the two soldiers said. This one looked human in form except his face was abnormally elongated. He also had blue skin and spiked, blonde hair.

"You're not welcome to this planet now that our great emperor is close to conquering it!" said the other soldier who looked like an aquatic reptile with purple skin and a skinned axe on his head. "You guys must be tourists."

"Emperor?" all of them asked. To Krillin and Gohan, they had made the connection somehow after Raditz had mentioned to them about this galactic overlord who destroyed the Saiyans' home planet.

Bulma shivered in complete fear. "What are they?!"

In spite of everyone's confusion, only Raditz and Bardock knew where these soldiers belonged to which army. Upon realizing this, they felt their hearts racing even more, their hands almost fidgeting, their minds, felt like were about to go in a whirlwind of panic. Planet Namek may now be going through even more dangers and tribulations than anyone else had expected.

"It can't…be," Raditz almost whispered.

While the two soldiers continued to snicker evilly, they finally noticed the two full-blooded Saiyans. They were completely silenced at first, but they did not take long to grasp who they were facing.

"H-hold on. Isn't that…Raditz?" asked the blue-skinned soldier.

"Yeah, it _is_ him!" said his companion. "What is he doing here? I thought he went on a mission or something."

Raditz reacted to what they said by looking at them intently in the eyes.

The soldiers were a little intimidated by his gaze. "It seems to me, he's here on Namek for a bigger purpose than we're thinking."

After making more assumptions about Raditz, when they laid their eyes on Bardock, the blue-skinned soldier was greatly shocked. He trembled in fear, his voice shaking. He cannot believe his eyes.

"N-no way! I-I know him!" he shouted.

Then reptilian soldier had no idea why he was shaking like that though. "What's the matter? You know that guy next to Raditz? He looks like a Saiyan to me."

"He _is_ a Saiyan! Worse! He's B-B…Bardock!" he trembled.

When that name was spoken, the purple-skinned alien somehow recognized that name. He thought it was that name, which came from a tale that was brought up a long time ago, but it seemed like the person who carried this name really existed. "Wait, you mean _the_ Bardock?!"

"I thought he was killed along with the entire Saiyan race!" believed his comrade.

At that moment, Raditz and Bardock knew they had to step in. Now that these soldiers had located their presences, they cannot let them escape and leak any information about them.

The soldiers began calculating their power levels using their devices worn over their left eyes, which were their scouters. Raditz and Bardock had tried to suppress their powers, but due to their alarming discovery about the true nature of where these enemies actually came from, their strengths reacted to their emotions and were able to give these soldiers a glimpse of their true potential.

"Impossible!" the soldiers cried out.

"I-I thought they're just low-class warriors, but these numbers are extremely high!" the reptilian alien exclaimed.

"We-we need to report this right away!" the blonde-haired alien told him.

The soldiers took instant action and decided to escape, but Raditz and Bardock cannot let them retreat. Without warning, they teleported in front of soldiers and stopped them immediately.

"AAH!" they screamed with fright.

Without a single word, Raditz landed a straight punch towards the reptile's abdomen while Bardock went for a dynamic sidekick to the hips of the blue-skinned alien. The two were instantly knocked out and they fell into the rivers.

The two full-blooded Saiyans then levitated in air, the winds brushing on their faces as they watched the waters splashed and glistened underneath Namek's sun. They just cannot rid of these disturbing feelings they were having now. They could foresee terrible peril ahead.

Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma recovered from their shock first before they could bring out their voices again.

"Raditz! Bardock! What's going on?!" Krillin asked, looking up high. "Did those aliens actually know you? But how can they?"

Raditz did not answer him since he was still in deep thought about what just occurred here.

Bardock shook his head. "I got a feeling they're one of the allies…of our worst enemies."

"Worst enemies?" Gohan repeated.

Raditz began to clench his fists. He slowly shifted his vision towards his father in which he did the same back. Without the need for verbal expression, they understood what they had to face in the future.

All of a sudden, they heard Bulma sobbing and weeping. She saw the damage that was done to the engine of their ship. "No, I can't believe this! They just destroyed our only ship! Our only way to get back home!"

"What? No way!" Krillin cannot believe that this was true. He ran to the ship and checked it out for himself to see the kind of damage that was done to it.

Raditz landed back on the surface and examined the ship as well. After making a thorough analysis, he concluded, "No, it's not totally broken. It's just been slowed down, but we'll need to make repairs to the engine. I don't how long that'll take though…"

"Really?" Bulma sniffled between words. "Okay, if you say so. Ugh! I can't believe those ugly freaks!" she referred to the soldiers earlier. "And I thought we'll have no problems for this trip."

Gohan bit his lip in worry. "I don't think that's possible now, Bulma."

Bardock continued to levitate in air, his eyes searching for an object or anything that would surely give him a sign that the enemies they will likely to encounter today were the ones he kept constantly seeing in his visions. Soon, his eyes caught something from a distance. He noticed…two Saiyan space pods. One was landed on top of a canyon while the other was landed meters away from it.

Bardock gave a serious look. There was no denying the reality now. They had to face the truth. "…this is just not our day, guys."

"What do you mean?" Krillin asked who heard him.

Bardock kept his eyes fixated at that particular angle. Raditz and Krillin glanced at each other, wanting to confirm what he was seeing. They took flight and once they saw what Bardock had seen, they grew even more shocked.

"Wait, aren't those Saiyan pods?!" Krillin asked anxiously.

Raditz knew one of those ships belonged to his once former companion, but now his sworn enemy. "…it's…Vegeta…"

Bulma and Gohan heard what they said and they immediately panicked.

"WHAT?!" Bulma was terrified.

Gohan shook his head. "No, it can't be. What's Vegeta doing here?!"

Bardock's fists tightened. He just hated all what he was encountering now. "Those visions…they're coming true after all…," he whispered to himself. Soon, his gasped in fright to realize that if his vision of Vegeta arriving to Namek was true, then did that mean the rest of his visions were coming to existence as well?

"Guys, it's best if we all suppress our energy!" Krillin notified his friends quickly. "If that's really Vegeta, then we're in for some trouble. We can't let him sense us or any of those weird soldiers that we just met not too long ago."

The Z-warriors quickly basked their strengths inside and kept them to a minimum to make them almost non-existent.

Bulma cried even more. "No, this all a DREAM! Why is this happening to us?! WHY?!" she wailed.

"I don't understand," Gohan told his family and friends. "Why would Vegeta come to Namek in the first place?"

"If you remember, Gohan, he'd always want to look for the DragonBalls to wish for eternal life," Krillin became infuriated. "I think that's why he's here!" he raised a fist. "I bet he'll stop at nothing now to get that wish!"


	7. Clutch of Evil

Episode 52

Clutch of Evil

 **Author's Note: Power levels had been slightly changed so that they would make sense for this story. Just letting you all take note of that. Happy reading!**

Everyone understood that they were no longer safe and that they were entering into the territories of unwelcomed enemies. They thought about the Namekians and they assumed they must be in deep trouble.

"What do we do now?" Bulma asked anxiously. "If Vegeta's after the DragonBalls also, then we're all doomed!"

Bulma's friends understood this was not the best place for her to be in now. Krillin highly suggested to her that she should leave Namek as soon as possible and go back to Earth.

"What?" Bulma was confused. "But I can't leave you guys here!"

"It's all right, Bulma," Krillin told her. "Just give us the Dragon Radar and we'll collect the DragonBalls! We can't let _anyone_ get them including Vegeta. I mean, with Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock here…I think we can handle ourselves."

He glanced at them, asking if he was right in saying this. Unfortunately, they could not even tell if they were going to be safe for long.

Bulma sighed and began to pace around, thinking to herself. "I understand. I'm counting on you, guys…but wait! I need to repair the ship first before heading back to Earth! Ugh! I can't believe this!" she was annoyed.

"It shouldn't take you that long to repair it," Krillin believed, "if you just spend enough time."

Raditz, however, was completely thinking of a different idea. Considering they were encountering these strange foes now, they cannot meander in one place for too long. "Listen, forget about the ship. It's best to seek shelter now until we can re-strategize ourselves and find a way to get the DragonBalls."

Bardock agreed with him. "Raditz is right. These scouts have already located our whereabouts. More reinforcements might be sent to get us."

Bulma could not decide if she should stick with Raditz's plan or not, but then, she also had another idea. "Look, we need extra help now on this trip. I'm thinking we should get Goku. I bet he's okay now at the hospital, but that'll take me like a month again to get him!"

"At least it's better than nothing," Gohan tried to remain positive. "I agree with you, Bulma. I think we need my daddy more than ever."

Bardock also agreed with this. He strongly believed Goku was needed at this crucial time. He remembered that vision again and he was seeing its greater significance.

At another area of Namek, hidden in a corner, behind a tall cliff, there was actually a small village there filled with small, dome-shaped houses and oddly-shaped trees, but it appeared to be the village had been abandoned for reasons unknown at the moment. There was no one residing in any of these houses as if it was a ghost town instead.

Standing in front of the village was the Prince of all Saiyans himself, Vegeta. Judging by his expression, he was ticked off since he was expecting some residents in this village, but there was none at all.

He pressed on his scouter to try to locate anyone, but he could not detect anything.

"This is really annoying," Vegeta snarled. "Where _are_ they? I can't believe this…has my chance for eternal life…no," he tried to rid of such notions in his head. "It's too early. There's no way that sly fool could've gotten those DragonBalls already."

His aura suddenly appeared and burst as he dashed into the skies. He levitated there for a while, his eyes searching about the area.

In no later time, he finally picked up a power level, but it was not what he wanted to see, yet it was not what he expected as well. He grinned in a sinister manner. "Well, that useless Cui had decided to follow me around? What a pest. Well, Cui, if you can hear me now, you can give a message to Frieza. His days are outnumbered just as yours!"

Cui, who was only a few miles away from the Saiyan Prince, was on the hunt for him. He had followed him all the way to Namek. He was able to hear him through his scouter, he began to laugh. "Hah, hah! Vegeta, you have no idea what you're up against. Compared to me, you're still feeble and weak. I recently got an order from Lord Frieza to execute you quickly. Prepare yourself!" he took flight and decided to confront him on his own.

Back with Bulma and the others, Bulma was inside the ship. At least the interior of the spacecraft was still intact and in good shape. She was making a long-distance call to Planet Earth actually! She was having a conversation with Master Roshi over the phone using her Capsule Corp communicator. She was telling him the serious situation she and her friends were in and they needed Goku's help as soon as possible. Roshi understood her and promised he will get Goku as soon as possible.

 _"Okay, got you! I'm on it!"_ Master Roshi responded on the phone.

"Good! And make sure you don't tell Chi-Chi. She'll freak out, 'kay? You got all of that? …no! Switch it around!" Bulma corrected him. "Good, now tell them! Bye!" she hang up on the phone.

Bulma exited the ship and informed her friends that she had already called Roshi; therefore, Goku should be leaving as soon as he can.

"Is my dad okay now from his injuries?" Gohan asked.

"He should be," Bulma was certain. "Just give him one those sprout thingies and then he'll get back to health in no time."

"Do you mean Senzu Beans?" Krillin asked.

"Whatever you call them!" Bulma exclaimed, not having time to think about the correct terminology for it. "Anyway, so we're sticking with the original plan. I'll leave and get Goku and I'll give you guys the Dragon Radar. You go look for the DragonBalls. All right? Bye!" she waved at them casually as if there was nothing wrong in the first place or perhaps she was only trying to disregard all the possible dangers she was in.

Raditz crossed his arms and was not pleased with this. "Do you fully comprehend the situation we're in? Didn't I tell you that we should seek shelter instead? Not to mention, the ship's still needs repairing, but we won't have any time for that. More of these scouts are bound to find us here."

Bulma knew he was telling the truth, but she cannot help but deny it. "Rrrgh! How about you try to understand how _I'm_ feeling? You may not understand, but I'm so fragile and pretty, all this stress is a no-no. And I'm still the captain of the ship, am I? I should be making the decisions!"

"Where's your gratitude?" Raditz was getting irritated with her again. "We're the ones who're trying to protect you in the first place. Why can't you just follow our advice that could well save your life?!"

"Guys, can you stop arguing for once?" Bardock interrupted, having to balk their meaningless quarrel. He felt he could get a headache from all of this.

Krillin was actually listening more to Bulma's side of the conversation. The thought of retreating to Earth may not be a bad idea after all.

Gohan was a bit puzzled. "What? Why?"

Bardock and Raditz had the same reaction.

"Hey, come on!" Krillin tried to explain himself. "Enemies are practically looking for us now. Not to mention, Vegeta's here! Even with the Dragon Radar, the odds are stack against us. Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared or anything. I just want all of us to be safe especially Gohan. Chi-Chi would kill me if I let him get hurt!"

"But, Krillin! We can't just leave now!" Gohan did not like his idea. "What about the DragonBalls?"

Krillin backed off a bit. "Uh…well, how about we let him have it! I mean, we can always try again next year. Hah, hah, hah!" he laughed it off as if this was a complete joke.

"This is not the time to make jokes," Bardock said firmly. "Besides, aren't we here for a purpose? And that's to revive our friends?"

"That's right!" Gohan agreed. "Chiaotzu, Tien, Yamcha, and Mr. Piccolo are all counting on us to bring them back to life. Do you want to just abandon them like that?" he expressed himself very maturely.

When they heard their friends' names being spoken after such a long time, Krillin and Bulma felt guilty now for giving up too easily. Their friends had sacrificed so much back on Earth and then, they would just leave them like that? Bulma especially remembered her lover, Yamcha, and she felt she could cry of tears of sorrow. She missed him terribly and she cannot wait to be in his arms again.

"…you're right," Bulma sadly put her head down.

"Gosh," Krillin rubbed his hands nervously. "What was I thinking? Sorry, guys…it's just that, I'm scared to death, you know," he admitted.

He was not alone, however, since everyone was just as terrified as he was.

Raditz began to move the other direction whilst telling them, "Come on, we need to move."

Gohan tried to convince Bulma to come with them. "Let's go, Bulma. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some Namekians who can help repair our ship. I remembered what Mr. Piccolo first taught me: 'Never panic.'"

Bulma felt the stress was all too much for her though, she began to cry. "Oh, sure! Easy for you to say!"

Krillin, Gohan, Bulma, Raditz, and Bardock were forced to leave their ship for a while and seek shelter somewhere else. They were locating a good hiding spot that will not allow their enemies to find them. Unfortunately, they had to walk by foot since flying could reveal some of their suppressed powers, which can be detected by those scouters.

Bulma had carried with her a box of convenient capsules from her father's company. All of her capsules contained all of her belongings and necessities in there. Even though she was not carrying anything that can put stress to her walking, she was still having a difficult time catching up with her friends.

"Keep up, Bulma!" Krillin said, looking at her. "The scouts we'll find us if we keep your rate of speed like this!"

Bulma was very exhausted. "Can't we just fly over there? Why not one of you carries me instead?"

"Bad idea," Bardock answered. "And I already told you the reason why."

"Well, you seem tired yourself, Bardock! And irritated!" Bulma mentioned, trying to complain with them again.

Bardock tried to keep his cool though. Apparently, no one knew, except maybe his eldest son, the degree of stress and just anger he was having at the moment. It was beyond anyone could have ever imagined. He cannot help but think that their enemies possibly belonged to the army of that tyrannical emperor.

Bulma continued to complain and scream, tired of all this walking already. "Ooh…UGH!"

However, as if her wishes had been answered in a finger snap, the Z-fighters had found a cave ahead. They thought it should be a good hiding place for now, but Bulma complained again. "You want me to live in that hole? Ooh!" she stomped her foot.

Everyone quickly picked up their pace and went inside the cave.

"All right! Now we should stay here for a while," Gohan suggested.

As they all entered the cave, suddenly, they picked up another cluster of energy levels from a distance and this cluster was approaching towards their direction.

Krillin informed everyone, "Guys, hide! And bask your energy!"

Everyone hid deeper into the cave where they found darker shadows and stayed there until it was safe to come out again. Slowly, they took a quick look outside to find out what they were dealing with. They gasped in surprise to see several of these alien soldiers darting across the skies, all equipped and heavily armed, prepared to take down any intruder that stand in their way. To their great distress, there was one particular being amongst that group of soldiers that seemed to have held the highest power of all.

Bardock was dreading the most, above all.

They waited for a long time until they were certain that these unwelcomed creatures were gone. After witnessing that army of henchmen, tensions were high in the air.

Bulma was concerned about her friends, seeing how they looked all pale. "Hey, what's going on?"

"…," Gohan remained silent, however.

Krillin believed this had to be one of their shocking discoveries ever yet. "This is not good…," he actually fell to his knees. "D-did you guys feel that? That was so…powerful! That power level felt like it came more from a monster!" he was scared stiff.

Raditz's hands could not help but tremble so much. He only had one question in his mind: was that really _him_?

For Bardock, his pupils were clearly trembling, he felt like his muscles were almost numb. To add more to this strain and dread he was carrying, more visions came to his mind and they kept repeating themselves. Only, this time, he could validate that these visions were slowly coming into existence.

And it was almost unimaginable. Even though he had sought for vengeance the entire time against _him_ , he could never forget the terrifying might he was reputed for. Was that really _him_? If so, why was _he_ here at all?

While the Z-warriors were witnessing first-hand of all these enemies that had conquered Namek recently, in another area of the planet, Vegeta was flying at high speed, trying to locate the DragonBalls on his own; however, he would have to deal with Cui first. Cui came flying opposite of him, but as soon as he was an inch away, he fired a homing energy blast straight towards the royal elite.

The Saiyan Prince simply avoided it, the energy blast going up into the atmosphere instead. He then stared at his rival.

"So, we meet again, Vegeta," Cui smirked. "It's about time I put you to your place. How dare you defy Lord Frieza like this."

Vegeta closed his eyes while he had a sinister mirth. "Heh, heh, I'm afraid that I can't take orders from him anymore. You see, I have other plans in mind."

Cui scoffed. "Yes, and that's why he sees you as an abomination to him! I'll tell you what. I'll give you a chance to obey Lord Frieza again before you could get really hurt. There's always that chance, Vegeta."

The Saiyan Prince had to laugh again, knowing that his rival here had no idea what he was up against. He gave him a fair warning. "It's a shame that you and not even Frieza knows what I have been through since the past year. You'll soon discover the true strength of a Saiyan!"

Immediately, he bent his arms and legs and powered up, his aura emerging from his body again as it burst and sparked.

The smirk on Cui's face quickly faded away when he started to skim through these strange readings on his scouter. "Huh? What the? My scouter's going haywire!"

Vegeta sneered and loved to see that fearful look on his face. "Hah, hah! You could say it's a little trick I learned even before my one-year mission to Earth."

Cui could not believe what he was seeing. "This number must be a mistake!" he exclaimed. He stared with disbelief about the prince's strength as it continued to grow in large numbers.

Inside the cave, Bulma was holding up her Dragon Radar. On the screen, it indicated all of the five DragonBalls going to another direction and fast. They were heading towards another area where one of the two scattered DragonBalls was located.

Bulma cannot believe what she was seeing. "No way! Are those scouts who passed us earlier before, they have _all_ five DragonBalls?! But I thought the Namekians had them?"

"We thought wrong, but…how were they able to locate them?" asked Gohan worriedly. "They don't have a Dragon Radar, do they?"

"I bet they've been using their scouters to collect them," Raditz strongly assumed.

Krillin growled under his breath. "Man, so someone is ahead of us in the game, but we can't let them win! Bulma, do you know where they're heading to?"

Bulma checked her device again. "They just stopped, eight miles away from here, in that direction," she pointed to the northeast.

"Okay, then, I have an idea. If we could get _at least_ one DragonBall from them and put it in a safe place where they will not find it too easily, then they'll have a hard time getting it back. They won't be able to make their wish!" Krillin planned out.

"If that's the case, I'll have to come with you," Raditz decided to assist him. "I know all about our enemies here and what they're like."

Krillin accepted his support. "Okay, that should be a good idea. We'll just lower our energies, so they won't spot us."

For some reason though, Bardock was hesitant for Krillin and for his son to go. He wanted to warn them about something, but he did not know if he was just being irrational or not. After all, how he was for sure that, that was really _him_? Was _he_ even here?

"Grandpa Bardock," Gohan caught his attention. "How about you and I go look for the other DragonBall out there? The one the scouts are not after yet?"

Bardock was in deep thought, he snapped back to reality actually, only hearing half of what his grandson said. "W-what?"

However, to hear them all leaving her, Bulma panicked again. "Are you guys nuts?! What about me? I don't want to die alone! What if those goons located my whereabouts and starts attacking me instead?"

Krillin looked at her and gave her a choice."Have more trust in us, Bulma. I think you'll be safe here, but if you really think that's gonna happen, you can come chase the bad guys with us if you want."

Bulma was silenced a little, her brain coming up with another decision. She definitely did not want to get herself involved in some sort of skirmish out there and so, she made an excuse. "In fact…heh, heh! I guess I'll just stay here and hold down the port for you guys."

"Good idea, Bulma," Krillin said.

"Make sure you don't do anything stupid!" she warned them.

Krillin turned to Raditz and nodded to him. They decided they should leave now, not wasting any more time. The two then moved forward. They cannot fly too low or too visibly; therefore, they would have to fly at higher altitudes so that their energies would be too far for their enemies' scouters to detect. Once they arrive there, they would have to suppress their energy levels to almost none.

"Be careful out there!" Raditz told his father and nephew. As he took wing, he glanced at his father one more time as if he was mentally giving him a message, like he must take control of the situation himself and not let anyone get involved, even if it meant if he had to face that tyrant, Frieza, alone. He quickly left with Krillin.

"W-wait!" Bardock tried to stop them, but it was already too late.

"Don't worry about them, Bardock," Bulma said. "I'm sure they know what they're doing."

"Come on, Grandpa Bardock," Gohan dragged his arm, insisting that they, too, should leave. "Let's go find the other DragonBall before anyone else gets it."

Bardock sighed. Perhaps he just needed to have a little more faith on them. He now focused on the current mission ahead. "Okay, let's go."

Before leaving, they told Bulma to stay put and stay safe. Before she knew it, they had already departed, racing against time in order to obtain the magical orbs before their enemies can.

Bulma heaved a sigh. She then took out her box of capsules and picked up one of them. "You guys better be careful. We had gotten this far in our journey. Now, to call Master Roshi and see how Goku's doing."

While the Z-warriors were preparing themselves for any obstacles that will likely come their way, the Saiyan Prince himself was already facing an obstacle on his own; however, he was confident he will triumph this one.

Vegeta continued to power-up in front of Cui, his power soaring and reaching new heights. After enduring almost a life-and-death battle back on Earth, he had gained new and an immense amount of power. "You're an imbecile, Cui. Do you think you can keep up my experiences in battle? I've been from the brink of death and back again! Meanwhile, you've been hiding under the shield of Frieza…growing soft!"

Cui read the numbers he was seeing on his scouter. "No! 25,000? 27,000?! Impossible! Why's it still going up?!"

The royal elite then glared at his foe, his expression telling him that it was about time to put an end to this little game.

Cui backed away, trembling in fear. He knew he was no match for the Prince of all Saiyans anymore, but he just had one last trick up in his sleeve he could use. "W-wait, Vegeta, here me out, please! I just thought of something. W-why not I join forces with you instead? To tell you the truth, I never liked Frieza anyway!"

Vegeta knew better than to believe in him though. "Stop lying, you fool. You think I'll fall for that?"

Cui tried to convince him though. "Hold on, just think about it! We've known each other's strengths for a long time. We can use that to our advantage to take down Frieza."

"Shut that pathetic mouth of yours!" Vegeta ordered him. "You're nothing but a coward who just wants to run away from true fear!" he grinned with malevolence.

"I'm not lying, Vegeta!" Cui sounded a bit serious now. "Honest! We could make a fantastic team! Please! I mean it!"

Vegeta just growled at him, sick and tired of his annoying babbles and talks. He thought he should end this useless fight at this instant.

All of a sudden, Cui glanced over Vegeta's shoulder and cried with shock, "Huh? Look, it's Lord Frieza!"

At that point, Vegeta actually believed him, thinking the tyrant himself was standing right behind him. He turned around quickly and the moment he shifted his focus, Cui fooled him all along. Taking his distraction to his advantage, he barraged the Saiyan Prince with multiple and massive energy blasts. Cui laughed evilly, knowing his trick had worked. At the end, he gathered more power into his hands as he fired his last energy beam at Vegeta, which woke a huge explosion afterwards.

Cui covered his eyes a little from this cloud of smoke while trying to catch his breath. "Heh, heh, for a Saiyan elite, you really fell for that one too easily. You should've just stayed back and not interfere with Lord Frieza's plans. Sure you've been back from the brink of death, but you're useless if you let yourself off-guard!" he continued to have a raucous laughter.

"Is that so?" a voice suddenly asked out of the blue.

"What?!" Cui turned around and noticed Vegeta amongst the haze. Cui may have inputted a lot of power into that technique of his, but it did zero damage to his opponent.

Vegeta grinned. "You really are a _lying_ coward."

Cui shook with fear. "No…how? How did you escape from my attack?!"

"Hmph," Vegeta grunted. "Remember this, Cui. Never underestimate the power of a Saiyan elite."

The Saiyan Prince then took the initiative in a speed so fast one could barely anticipate; Vegeta suddenly appeared in front of Cui and threw a merciless punch to his stomach, causing a lot of foam to come out from his mouth. Cui was speechless and shocked. He had never felt this much pain before in his life.

"Heh, heh…RAARGH!" Vegeta then sent his feeble rival flying into the air after sending a destructive uppercut to his chin, breaking his jaw. He then placed his middle and index fingers together, pointed at him, and Vegeta made his opponent explode into space dusts, finishing his "Dirty Fireworks" technique.

"Hah! Simple tricks," Vegeta said.

Krillin reacted to that kind of power that Vegeta had unknowingly displayed to anyone who can detect energies using his or her senses. Raditz did not seem to notice though.

"Woah, did you feel that?" asked Krillin.

"What?" Raditz asked, keeping his eyes on the horizon.

"I don't know who's it from, but it's pretty intense!" Krillin exclaimed. "I have a feeling we'll be facing a lot of enemies on this planet…this is not good."

Raditz was nervous again, but he tried to maintain a clear mind. They needed to focus on the DragonBalls for now or else, all of their efforts would be in vain.

After traveling at very high altitudes where they can practically see two or three landscapes of Namek at the same time, Raditz looked down and finally saw the scouts who possessed the five DragonBalls. He stopped at a complete halt and Krillin did the same.

"Did you find them?" asked Krillin.

Raditz stared at this particular island below him. There was a village there and those tiny dots looked like the scouts, but there was one feature in this site that had caught his attention the most. He descended just a tad to get a closer look. He then spotted a line of green-skinned creatures dressed in heavy robes, their hands tied in rusty handcuffs.

Krillin saw this as well. "Wait, they look like…Namekians! I think we've come to the right place."

Raditz was alarmed to see this though. "…but why are they tied up?"

The monk warrior wondered about that, too. He insisted that they should see what was really going on. Immediately holding back their power levels to almost non-existent, they descended from the skies and resurfaced on the ground. They took every caution to not allow the scouts see them with their eyes or detect them with their scouters. After passing more canyons and cliffs unnoticeably, they came closer to the village and now, they were hiding behind a tall mountain. From there, they clearly saw what was going on.

There were several Namekians, about thirty of them, falling in a single line with their hands tied together. Their ages ranged from elderly, to young adults, and finally, to children. The alien soldiers who had captured them pointed their laser guns at these vulnerable Namekians.

"Go on now, stop stalling the line!" demanded one soldier.

"You!" one of the soldiers kicked the young Namekian by the leg. "Walk faster, will you? Lord Frieza will be displeased if you don't obey his orders."

When that name was spoken, Raditz grew especially shocked.

"W-wait…Frieza? Who's that?" Krillin asked, his voice down to a whisper.

Raditz's heart was beating fast, he could hear it ringing loudly in his ears. He was right after all. Frieza…was here on Namek all along. And he was here for the DragonBalls most likely. With his fretful eyes, he searched for Frieza then amongst his army and the helpless Namekians. It did not take him long to have finally seen him, sitting on his hovering pod with his two right hand-men beside him.

He knew him too well and thanks to his father, he had now known the truth about Frieza, his true nature, and his secretive, diabolical deeds. He was that traitor who destroyed the Saiyans' home planet. He was that liar who kept him in ignorance for so long. Worse of all, he was that heartless ruler who took away everything from the Saiyans and all those innocent lives out there who had been murdered under his name.

His fear and dread quickly transitioned into rage and anger. Raditz cannot help but glare at the galactic overlord. Like his father, he also swore revenge on him.

Krillin felt his energy going up the scale because of his peaking anger, he warned him to keep calm or else, the henchmen's scouters will pick up his power level.

Raditz heeded to his words, but it was just difficult to control his emotions sometimes.

Krillin looked around and noticed the DragonBalls that were underneath the arms of Frieza's two right-hand men. They were like Earth's DragonBalls only they were twice as big. He could also tell they held more magic and special wishing powers inside.

Krillin gulped hard. "I can't believe they have five of them already. If they find the other two, then it'll be over for us."

Raditz found his hands curling into fists.

"So, I'm guessing the one sitting in that pod is Frieza?" asked Krillin worriedly.

He did not get a response, but his silence can say a lot. Without Raditz needing to answer him, this mysterious, eerie creature was definitely Frieza in the flesh. Krillin understood he was that emperor whom Raditz and Bardock had mentioned once and, as Krillin had termed before, considered as "bad luck" to them.

Krillin was very shocked when he sensed Frieza's power and it was way beyond than he could have imagined. He felt his throat getting dry.

One of Frieza's right-hand men was completely alien who was heavily built, pink-skinned, and had spikes protruding from his head and arms. His wicked face showed he was that type of person who did not hesitate to start a brutal beating to anyone. The other henchmen looked human in form; a narcissist with gorgeous looks. His green hair was tied in a braid, his skin was fair and was colored almost aquamarine. He was wearing earrings, arm and leg warmers, and a prince-like tiara around his forehead. To him, looks and power meant everything. These two henchmen were dressed in similar armors like Raditz's only with a different color scheme and that the one with the braided hair had a light blue cape attached to his back. They were standing next to Frieza while each were carrying a Namekian DragonBall underneath of both of their arms.

Frieza was sitting on his pod, looking displeased though, his reptilian-like tail tapping the edge of his seat impatiently.

The emperor had finally brought out his voice. One could tell that even the sound of his tone held an infinite amount of authority. "What was your report again, Zarbon?"

The prince-like henchman turned to him and responded in the utmost decorum. "My lord, the search party that we sent out almost half an hour ago had lost communication with us. Also, your loyal servant, Cui, had also stopped transmitting."

Frieza began to think, his fingers now tapping on his pod while his eyes watched the imprisoned Namekians continued to be led by three to four of his servants. "Dodoria, what did your scouter indicate about Cui's power level as well as Vegeta's? I thought Cui had done his job eliminating that prince."

Dodoria reported, "Sire, it's very odd, but when I calculated Vegeta's power level, it soared to 30,000! He was able to defeat Cui in less than five seconds."

"30,000?" Zarbon asked, refusing to believe him a little. "Are you telling me that Vegeta's power level is higher than us combined?" he referred to his strength and Dodoria's. "Is that the reason why my scouter had disintegrated?"

"This has got to be a trick!" Dodoria believed. "His power's never been above 18,000."

Frieza although began to smirk, his red eyes glowing with pure malice. "Are you really that surprised? Vegeta has gone through heavy combat for a while especially after he went to Earth. He must've picked up some new techniques along the way, which explains his sudden boost of power."

Zarbon felt he knew what he was talking about. "Techniques? Perhaps, Sire, you're thinking about the technique of suppressing one's energy."

"That could be one of them," Frieza said.

"Suppress?" Dodoria asked. "So that must mean, the search party that we sent earlier ago was defeated by two men who had a power level of just 2,000, but really they're basking their power level?"

Raditz gave a look after hearing what he said.

"I never thought something like that could exist," Dodoria remarked.

Frieza's patience, however, was growing thin. "Why are you wasting my time with these petty observations? Even with power levels of 2,000 or 30,000 will not make any difference to _my_ power. To help ease your minds, these people can't hide for long. We'll soon cross paths," he sneered once more. "Concentrate in getting all the DragonBalls and then, this planet will be mine. Besides, you two shouldn't worry. I thought you were preparing yourselves improving your skills in battle before we came to Namek. You can easily wipe out these pests, can you?"

"Yes, Sire," the two obeyed his orders.

Frieza then intently stared at the Namekians who were handcuffed. The children were especially frightened, they tried to hide behind their caretakers who were more of the young adults and elderly. The older Namekians glared at the tyrant with anger.

"That Vegeta," Dodoria spat. "How dare he defy us like this."

Frieza heard what he said and he chuckled. "It's obvious why he's doing this. And do you know why he's obsessed in getting all those DragonBalls?" he asked him. "I'll tell you why. Because he's been secretly plotting to overthrow me after all these years, waiting for that opportunity to strike and now with the hopes of those DragonBalls, he thinks he can oppose me now. I'll soon make a good example out of him."

Raditz and Krillin realized they were right in thinking that Vegeta was also pursuing the DragonBalls to fulfill his desire of gaining immortality.

But what about Frieza's purpose of collecting them-?

All of a sudden, two soldiers came up to Frieza and they bowed to him in great respect, announcing, "Lord Frieza, your father has arrived!"

Krillin and Raditz were alarmed to hear this.

"Huh, 'father'? Whose father?" Krillin was confused.

For Raditz though, he was immensely shocked to hear this, he almost shuddered. At this very moment, they were in for more than just trouble. He, his friends, and family were all in great peril.

The soldiers who were escorting the imprisoned Namekians ordered them to stop moving. They demanded them to stay still and bow their heads to their future king. Of course, the Namekians refused and they just stood in confusion and shock. Everyone, even Frieza's right-hand men, Zarbon and Dodoria, knelt on one knee and kept their heads lowered. Frieza was the only one who was casually sitting on his hovering pod, his ruby eyes looking intently at the one approaching him now.

From behind Frieza's scouts, they made way to another being who shared similar features to Frieza except he had more wrinkles on his face, his body structure was huge and greatly built, and he was very tall in size. He was wearing royal battle armor and a black cape with a symbol imprinted on the back to represent his supremacy. He had a sword attached to his waist as his main choice of weapon.

Behind him, he had three scouts whom belonged to his son.

Zarbon and Dodoria said in unison, "King Cold."

King Cold stood tall with a lot of sovereign power. One of King Cold's men was carrying another DragonBall with him.

Frieza smirked. "You're quite late…Father."

King Cold grinned back. "I have every right to be late, Frieza. Your men happened to find this DragonBall and it certainly came from this village."

"Oh?" Frieza stared at the Namekians again whom were all frightened and angry at him. "So I was right in thinking that they _do_ have a DragonBall, but they kept it well hidden. Well, you know that can never be enough to trick the mighty Frieza," he intimidated the helpless Namekians.

King Cold then turned around and stared at the creatures. He began to laugh while he announced to them, "Be thankful. You should feel honored that my son and I will reign over your planet soon and become a part of us. You'll soon work for us for our illustrious Planet Trade Organization….that is, if you don't defy us in the first place."

These feelings that Krillin and Raditz had were just indescribable. So many events were going on all at once, but they held the same meanings and purposes.

Krillin had to say something, seeing where this occurrence could lead to. "No way! Raditz, now they have _six_ of the DragonBalls! If they get the last one…oh no, aren't Bardock and Gohan going for that one? If Frieza and his father find out, they could try to go after them! We have to do something!"

Raditz was speechless as strain and worries were just weighing him down. Krillin had a point. Frieza will definitely go after for the last DragonBall and his father, Bardock, and nephew, Gohan, might unexpectedly encounter him and his men, which was the last scene in his head he would want to see happening. He tried his best to keep a clear thinking ahead, coming up with another plan to thwart their enemies' plans somehow. He kept telling to himself this was no time to be held back by fear or doubt, but Raditz was in a quandary. How can they handle such a great predicament?


	8. Vicious Monarchy

Episode 53

Vicious Monarchy

Goku was lying on his bed as he continued to rest, but the more he did this, the more his impatience grew. He was really itching to get out of this hospital.

His doctor was there, checking to see if he was in good shape, but unfortunately, he may have to stay in the hospital for a little while longer.

"So, Doc, do you think I can actually get up and work out again?" Goku asked. Was there nothing else he thought of?

"Goku, what's wrong with you?" Chi-Chi asked. Her husband was just too stubborn at times.

The doctor shook his head, saying he was not ready yet. Goku became disappointed, he lied his head on the pillow again, feeling terribly bored.

There was a sudden knock on the door and someone came inside. It was Master Roshi.

Goku greeted him. "Hey, Master Roshi."

"Hey, Goku," Roshi greeted him back. Suddenly, he began to look around. "Um, is Chi-Chi here?"

Chi-Chi was standing in front of him, of course, and she told him, "Yes, I'm here. In fact, she _is_ here!"

Roshi laughed nervously. Chi-Chi hated him to be here because she learned that every time he visited them, he and Goku would sneak in some exercise drills behind her back, which she strongly disapproved.

Chi-Chi was carrying Goku's clothes in a laundry basket. She made her way out of the room and have them cleaned. She warned the both of them, "Don't get any ideas! I'll be right back!"

After she left, Master Roshi then approached Goku and quickly told him the news of his friends and family's situation in Planet Namek.

"What's wrong? Are they doing okay?" Goku asked very concerned.

Master Roshi quickly summarized for him. Even he was feeling nervous. "They arrived safely at Namek, but they're not the only ones who are tourists. Apparently, Vegeta is there and much more powerful than before, but they're even stronger enemies that had arrived whose more powerful than that Saiyan!"

Goku was taken back to have heard this. He cannot believe his friends and family would encounter trouble at this time.

"And on top of that, their ship has been damaged and it might take days to be repaired!" he exclaimed.

Goku shook his head. "Are you telling me that they're stuck there?"

Master Roshi sighed with worry. "All I know is that they really need your help, but the presence of a stronger force residing in Namek really scares me."

Goku sat still in complete silence, the uneasiness taking over his mind. He just felt useless to do anything since he still needed to stay in this hospital. Why could he not get any better?

After a long silence, another person came inside the room and he was Yajirobe.

"Yajirobe," both Goku and Master Roshi said.

"Hey, did I miss somethin'?" Yajirobe asked, sensing how the air felt too quiet in his opinion. He then cleared his throat and quickly changed topic. "Whatever, I'd rather not hear about it, but I got something here that could cheer you up," he then brought out a brown bag from behind him, which contained remedies that Goku had been waiting forever to take. "I know it took a long time, but Korin finally grew these Senzu Beans. Should get your strength back a hundred percent."

As soon as Goku saw this, he sprung to life and cheered, his wishes had been answered at all. "AWESOME! And perfect timing, too, Yajirobe! Thanks a lot. I've been dying to have one of these!"

The doctor tried to stop Yajirobe though from feeding his patient some medicine he was not even well aware about.

"Got nothin' to worry, Doc," Yajirobe assured him as he flung a Senzu Bean to Goku's mouth.

Immediately, the remedy took effect, Goku felt rejuvenated and brand new again. Not to mention, his strength had increased tremendous amounts. The doctor and nurses were surprised to see this sudden change of behavior in Goku while Master Roshi and Yajirobe laughed happily to see their friend back on track again.

"All right, I'm so glad I can leave this place now," Goku took out his hospital robes while going to his cabinet to find his clothes there. He found his famous blue and orange martial art uniforms stacked in a neat pile. He took out one and wore it as quickly as he could. "Now I'm off to Namek! Thanks, Yajirobe, for the Senzu Beans. I'll keep this bag for my trip in case I need it."

"But Goku!" Roshi stopped him for a moment, thinking he was being too hasty. "You need a ship first to get to Namek."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I thought ahead," Goku tapped his forehead. "Before everyone headed to Namek, I asked Bulma's father to build a ship for me just in case a situation like this comes up."

Yajirobe asked, "So he made the same exact ship like Bulma's?"

"No," Goku replied. "Dr. Briefs told me is a new model and it's built only on Capsule Corp. He says the ship's pretty fast and he also added some additional things to it that'll help me on my journey," Goku then ran to the window, opened it, and called out his trusted friend, Nimbus. As quick as it can, the cloud flew and stopped beside.

Goku rode on it and he immediately soared away. "Wish me luck! See you, guys!"

Roshi and Yajirobe gave him the best of luck while the doctor and nurses were still surprised by what they had seen that was fully beyond their scope of understanding for now.

Chi-Chi was seen hanging Goku's washed boxers to dry under the sun. She was humming a sweet tune until all of a sudden, she noticed Nimbus in the skies. She had always known that cloud for years. Whenever it was there, it could only mean one thing.

"Wha-? Just what in the world? Hey, isn't that Goku?!" Chi-Chi tried to understand what was really going on until she remembered about these so-called Senzu Beans. He must have taken one of those. That was why he was back to full health.

She tried calling him, waving her arms frantically to get his attention. "Goku, stop! Where do you think you're going?! You didn't even pack clean underwear! Goku! Come back here!"

Goku was able to hear his wife miraculously. He asked Nimbus to fly to Chi-Chi so that he could give her a brief farewell.

"I better go tell her," Goku said. As soon as he went towards her, he got an instant smack to the head. "Ouch!" he yelped and rubbed his cranium.

"Goku, what are you trying to do? You're leaving without me telling what's going on?!" she asked him furiously.

"Chi-Chi, look, I have to explain this really fast, but our friends and family need my help on Namek," Goku said.

Chi-Chi's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Are you saying that our child's in trouble?!"

To explain the situation was going to be difficult for Goku especially that he needed to leave at once, but he also needed to calm his wife. He could only ask her to stay positive and have more faith in their friends and family out there. "No, they're not really in trouble. They're doing okay so far, but something just came up, that's why I need to get to them. Don't worry. I'll be back as soon as I can with Gohan, okay?"

"But Goku! Can't you sit down for a few minutes so we can talk about this?!" Chi-Chi tried to make him stay.

Goku had no time, unfortunately; therefore, all he could do now was to ease her doubts and worries. "Everything's gonna be fine, Chi-Chi. I promise!"

Then, Goku quickly kissed Chi-Chi on the forehead before taking off and disappearing in the horizon. Chi-Chi was actually silenced for a moment. It was almost unlike her husband to do that. Usually, she would give him the kiss before he did. Goku, for his age, still acted like a child at times, being innocent and sometimes, being too ignorant, Chi-Chi was convinced he was still learning the definition of how to be a real husband. Nevertheless, it was a trait that she found quite adorable from her husband, but what he just did now, he just did it on a whim. Or perhaps, he really wanted to let her know that everything was going to be fine and that he wanted her to stop worrying and just put her trust on them for now.

Chi-Chi clasped her hands together in worry and she whispered to the winds, hoping he could still hear her. "Goku…"

On Namek, Frieza, King Cold, and their scouts were now staring at the Namekians they had imprisoned, all thirty of them. They were forced to stand on their own feet, even the exhausted children, and face this vicious monarchy.

Raditz and Krillin kept themselves quiet and maintained their energies to the lowest possible.

"I'm guessing you also know about King Cold, Raditz?" Krillin asked him.

Raditz barely moved his lips. "Not much. I only saw him once, but…," he just knew his power was terrifying as well.

"Now," Frieza began talking to the Namekians. "Perhaps you know what's going on to your precious planet. I'm sure you've been hearing rumors, but let me say that those rumors are all true. My men and I have been hunting down your people for a very special treat."

The Namekians did not say anything.

"But first, let me ask, who in here is the village elder? I've been seeking out for all seven of them," Frieza had a look around. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should've said 'please'," he mocked them.

No one talked.

Frieza despised this enduring silence. "The kind of people I hate the most is those who don't respond to me quickly. I'll ask one more time, _where_ is the village elder-?"

Suddenly, his father, King Cold, smirked as if he already knew where the village elder was or more like where _he_ was hiding. He snapped his fingers and gestured some of Frieza's scouts to come forward.

The imprisoned Namekians, they were worried, yet vexed as two Frieza soldiers had come out from one of the houses with the village elder himself. He was holding two Namekian children with him and all three were being pushed outside.

Frieza glanced at his father with little annoyance. "Father, can you cut out with the suspense? You could've just told me where they were."

King Cold chuckled, ignoring his son's quick temper.

Frieza looked back at the three captured Namekians who had been hiding all this time. "Well, you must be the village elder, I presume?" he asked.

The village elder, like his other fellow Namekians, was dressed in heavy robes, only he had a long, red vest over his shoulders and half of his chest and abdomen were shown. He was holding onto the two Namekian children with him. The young kids were clutching his legs tight, all whimpering in silence.

There was no response from the village elder again.

King Cold decided to say something. He raised his hand towards them. "If it'll ease your fragile hearts, then hear this. We haven't tried to kill any of your fellow people…well," he corrected himself, "aside from those who've been very uncooperative with us. We had no choice but to kill them."

The village elder and the rest of the Namekians were enraged to hear this.

"Oh?" Frieza saw the look on his face and he grinned. "So you're not a rock after all that won't budge. My father does have a point. We only kill those who keep defying us, but if you could just talk, you won't have to see much suffering. Now, that's a clear message that you better start moving your mouths."

Zarbon remained quiet while Dodoria laughed evilly. Frieza continued to wait for an answer.

The elder Namekian of the village clenched his fists. He spoke in a different language. "Nawunita hanita hamoa wuta leti kuweto."

"Hmph," Frieza was not fooled that easily. "Clever, old fool. Don't trick us by only knowing how to speak in Namekian. I know you are fluent in the common tongue."

He had no choice then but to say it in English. "The elders stay at the village with the children while the men work out in the fields. Will that do?"

"That's better," Frieza was quite pleased with his response. "You see how much easy it is when we cooperate? Now, let's move on to the next topic. Do you know why your fellow people are being taken away by me?"

The village elder shook his head slowly. In his mind, he was screaming furiously in his head, demanding to know why.

Frieza went on to explain himself. "You see, we only come here for the purpose of getting all the DragonBalls and then destroying this puny planet for good."

The Namekians growled in response.

Frieza stopped them and he continued. "I've spoken to one of the elders and he explained how the DragonBalls were created by the wisest, most knowledgeable Namekian here on this planet. Each DragonBall is located in different villages and it's been entrusted to the elders to guard these as if they were their lives. He even told us that a dragon will be summoned and can grant any wish the wisher desires. All of the elders had willingly given up their DragonBalls after we killed their trusted soldiers…they _did_ say we have to put our strengths to the test to see if we're worthy enough to obtain the DragonBalls. And well, what else can we do?" he laughed at the end.

The Namekians were horrified to know this. They truly despised this merciless tyrant.

Krillin and Raditz had the same reactions as theirs.

The village elder gritted his teeth together, wanting to stand up to him, but he was too powerless to do so. He then heard from one of the children he was holding onto telling him, "Elder Moori, I'm scared!"

He whispered to him and gave him courage. "Stay strong, Cargo. You can't let these heartless people show that you're afraid."

The other child tightened his grasps on him as well. "Moori!"

"You, too, Dende," he spoke to him and he, too, gave him the courage that he needed. "You must stay strong for your people!"

King Cold raised an eyebrow and he asked, "What are you mumbling to those feeble brats? Are you not listening to what we're saying to you?"

Moori looked up with anger written in his eyes. He had to ask them. "Enough already. What have you done to the other villagers and to the rest of the elders?!"

"That's where I'm getting at," Frieza grinned. "Five of the elders and…I would say ninety-percent of your fellow villagers are all tucked away in my ship."

This was very crucial information that Raditz and Krillin needed to take note of.

"Wha-what are you going to do with them?" Moori asked with apprehension.

Frieza already had a plan in mind before he arrived on Namek. He decided to share it with him so that he may further understand. "Simple. I got two plans. One is this: when I spoke to one of the elders, he told me something very interesting. He said that even if I gathered all seven DragonBalls, he said I couldn't achieve my wish anyway…it took me a while to comprehend this."

Everyone remained silent.

"But it soon dawned on me that your fellow people must have a secret code to summon the dragon, am I right? A password that only _you_ know and not to strangers like us?" asked Frieza, his intelligence rendering them speechless.

Moori was perspiring a little.

"So, that's why I spared the village elders and kept them in my ship for a while until I collect all DragonBalls and have _them_ make the wish for me," Frieza grinned even more. "It's a wonderful plan, don't you think?"

With all what they were hearing so, Krillin and Raditz believed this was complete madness, but at least, unbeknownst to Frieza, the two were getting a lot of this important information that can put them to an advantage.

"Wha-what are you going to wish for?" asked Moori.

"Hmph," Frieza closed his eyes, having this sentiment of triumph as if he had already achieved the wish that he desired. "Simple: immortality."

Krillin and Raditz gasped in silence.

"But doesn't Vegeta want the same thing, too?" asked Krillin. If this was the case, then Frieza will be having a lot of competition.

King Cold then asked the village elder, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't your dragon grant more than just one wish as well? If so, the thought of having eternal life is something I don't mind having, too."

The Namekians did not want to reveal any information regarding this, however.

"Hmph, you'll soon talk once I force you to," Frieza declared and then, he held up two fingers. "Anyway, this is my second plan: my army and I here run this Planet Trade Organization and I, being the mighty ruler of my infinite time of power, go from planet to planet, conquer them, and take them as our own. Even sell them off to the highest prices to earn a lot of profit. So, instead of destroying this planet and all who live here, my proposition to you is we would love for the Namekians to work for us."

None of the villagers liked what they were hearing.

Moori had to question them again. "What do us, Namekians, are anything special to you? Especially that our planet is weak and as frail as we all are…"

"Aah, but that's where you're wrong," King Cold said, taking over his son's conversation. "You Namekians possess many special powers, I'm certain. Sure, maybe you're not the best in combat, but the fact that you can create these wishing orbs, summon powerful dragons and, like a few chosen here…have the power to heal, we could definitely use that to our advantage."

Dende felt himself holding onto Moori much tighter than ever.

"Hmph, well-said, Father," Frieza told him.

While Frieza and his henchmen were busy talking to the village elder, there was one Saiyan who had his scouter turned on the whole time and he, too, was receiving all of this valuable information.

It was Vegeta and he had never felt so satisfied in his life. "Heh, heh, I see. Both Frieza and his father are here. And all the Namekians are in their ship, eh? Well, you may be lucky for now, but after I beat you to the next DragonBall, you won't deal with me so easily."

The Saiyan Prince took wing and decided to take immediate action.

"And we'd also love to take over this planet," King Cold proposed, spreading his arms wide. "I understand that this planet's still adjusting due to radical atmospheric changes in the past, but with our prowess in technology and trading, we can instantly change this planet into a training and military base. Not to mention, your planet is also a perfect energy source since you have three suns in your solar system, we could turn this planet into an energy-mining site."

Frieza chuckled softly under his breath, agreeing with his father. "This idea of his, I'd have to give credit to him. I, too, would love to conquer this planet. I can be your new king and if you just continue to obey me, no harm will be done to your fellow people any longer. You should be thankful that for someone who just kills anyone who stands in his way, that I'd be quite generous with you all-"

"-stop it!" Moori angrily intruded him. He declined this monarchy's selfish plans just for world domination and for using his fellow people as his slaves. He would never believe in his words. "My people and I will never surrender and work for you, you monsters! Not in a million years!"

Frieza was not amused especially that he was clearly challenging his authority. "It's wise if you control your tongue. You know, there's always other places for defiant insects like you," slowly, he lifted up his index finger and on the tip of it, a faint, glowing sphere came into view

"Elder Moori!" the imprisoned Namekians cried with concern, but they were hurt again by Frieza's men when they pushed them on their backs, ordering them to stay silent.

Krillin shook his head. "No, he's not planning to kill them, is he?!"

Raditz was tightening his fists, his mind telling him he should take drastic actions until all of a sudden, three shadows passed by. Those shadows appeared to be three well-built and skilled Namekian warriors who were in charge of guarding the villages and the entire planet itself. They had heard about the trouble that was being caused to their fellow people, they needed to step in and end this conflict as soon as possible. They landed in front of Moori, Cargo, and Dende to protect them.

The imprisoned Namekians were relieved to see them and the children rejoiced to see that their heroes had come to save them all.

King Cold found this to be quite a surprise. "Reinforcements, I presume?"

Krillin thought, "Hey, they must be Namekian soldiers. They might have a chance."

Raditz had doubts, however. "The question is…will it be enough?"

Frieza grunted and warned the Namekian soldiers that they might just be a bit too late to save their friends. The warriors ignored what he said and demanded to know who they were. Frieza introduced himself again and summarized the purpose why he was here in the first place.

Just hearing him talk about his plans for world domination and his empty words of honor, the warriors had heard enough.

One of them stated, "So the rumors are all true. There _have_ been mysterious beings attacking our villages and stealing our DragonBalls!"

Frieza chuckled evilly.

Another reprimanded him, "How dare you come and harm our people! You have no right to be here! Leave now!"

"Be careful, my brethren," Moori warned them. "These people are way more powerful than they look."

However, the rest of the Namekians and the little children were all encouraging their warriors to fight off Frieza and his army and bring them down once and for all.

Frieza leaned back on his pod, his bloody, red eyes keeping grave stares at the Namekians whom he saw as stubborn and very ignorant creatures. He then yelled, "Section four, move forward!"

A group of around five of his minions stepped forward.

"Take care of these pests for me," Frieza commanded them.

"Yes, Lord Frieza!" they obeyed him. They quickly checked the power levels of the Namekian soldiers with their scouters. They guffawed with what they had read. "What puny levels. They're only 1,000 each!"

Everyone was convinced that their fighting levels were fixed at this number, but Krillin and Raditz knew better than that.

"No," Krillin thought. "They're just basking their powers, that's what."

Moori immediately noticed these devices being worn on their left eyes and he assumed that these apparatuses had allowed them to locate the DragonBalls. With that thought in mind, he started to formulate a plan.

"Go get 'em!" the soldiers yelled, charging towards the Namekian warriors.

They immediately began battle, but they quickly realized that Frieza's men were falling to their defeat sooner than they expected. Krillin and Raditz's assumption was proven right when the Namek soldiers began powering up, their strengths increasing.

The Namek warriors caught Frieza's soldiers off-guarded and they attacked them all at once. One threw a quick jab and followed with an elbow strike to two Frieza soldiers at the same time. The second Namek released an energy beam from his hand, burning one of Frieza's henchmen to space dusts. The third Namek warrior charged enough power into his body, releasing a force field that blew away the Frieza soldiers, having them crash against the walls and cliffs.

The imprisoned Namekians were now cheering for their people.

Dodoria scoffed and said with irritation, "Bah, we should've known better. These Nameks also know how to hide some of their power. They're trying to trick us, that's what."

"Hmm…," Frieza was rather seeing this as an interesting fight.

More of Frieza's men then came to try to take down the Namek warriors.

"RAARGH!" they continued to fight on.

They teamed up, all three of them, and gave it all they got. One Namek delivered a heavy blow to the back of a Frieza soldier while another launched multiples of energy blasts. The last one was demonstrating flexible footwork as well as various punches and kicks. Frieza's men turned out to be feeble and weak and were easily defeated.

Seeing how his minions were miserably failing him, Frieza's patience was growing thin again.

One minion was blown away and was about to hit King Cold, but he simply turned his body, his cape flying with the winds for a moment before staying still again. The minion instead fell into the rivers.

King Cold turned to his son and told him with a brief chuckle, "Frieza, it seems to me that your henchmen are a lot weaker than I thought. Heh, heh, didn't I tell you to build a much more powerful army than this?"

Frieza did not want any lectures at this time. "Don't try to scold me now, Father. I anticipated that something like this would happen. That's why I planned ahead and called in some back-ups. It should help me get the job of collecting the DragonBalls and conquering this planet faster."

"Back-ups? Oh, I see," King Cold already knew what he was talking about. "You mean the self-proclaimed elite force in the entire galaxy?"

Frieza smirked. "Yes, that's them."

While the Namekian soldiers continued to take down the Frieza soldiers and reduce their numbers, Moori began whispering to Cargo and Dende. "My brethren, move away from me at once."

The children were confused why he was saying this, but Moori insisted them to stay back. The kids did what he told them.

After the fight, Frieza praised the Namekian soldiers for their heroic efforts, but claimed that he let some of his minions die since he was trying to single out the weak from the strong ones. Those who still remain or survive will continue to be part of his army. For Frieza, there were only Zarbon, Dodoria, ten more minions left, and four scouts who were still in charge of guarding the captured Namekians.

"What a heartless monster," Krillin stated.

Raditz had a very serious expression.

Frieza thought though that he should not waste any more time. And so, he summoned his right-hand men to finish the job for him.

"Yes, Lord Frieza!" Dodoria was eager to battle actually. He gave the two DragonBalls he was carrying under his arms to one of the minions guarding the imprisoned Namekians.

"Gladly," Zarbon placed the DragonBalls on the surface, close to King Cold and Frieza.

Raditz stared at Zarbon and Dodoria and he knew them very well. He was just worried because he knew the Namekian warriors were no match for them now. _"If only I could find out a way…to help out…,"_ however, this was still too much risk for him to take at this time.

Dodoria cracked his knuckles and moved his neck from side-to-side. "So, who's ready for some pounding time? I think this a good opportunity to promote ourselves, don't you think so, Zarbon?"

Zarbon chuckled softly under his breath. He fixed his arm warmers while flicking a strand of his hair that was getting onto his eyes. "If Lord Frieza is contemplating it."

Frieza heard them. "I will have to see…now, execute them," he ordered his right-hand men.

Before these foes had made their moves, Moori caught them by surprise by blasting off Dodoria's scouter, causing it to explode into bits. Zarbon's and Frieza's attention were caught.

"Elder!" cried the Namekian warriors, wondering what he was doing.

Dodoria held his face and felt himself fuming up. "You weakling! You think that would stop me?!"

Moori then jumped in mid-air, caught them all by surprise, as he gathered more energy to fire the last remaining scouters. It did not take Frieza and his men for long to realize the purpose for him doing this.

Raditz had also figured out why Moori did this. "He's destroying the scouters so Frieza will have a hard time locating the last DragonBall."

"Heh, that crafty, old dog," Krillin admired his wits.

Dodoria became fuming mad and now, he swore he would kill the Namekian warriors as well as Moori himself. He charged towards them head-on, ready to make them suffer.

The three Namekian warriors did not back down. With their lives, they protected the village elder as well as the rest of their people to the best they could. They immediately fought Dodoria as well as Zarbon, but it did not take for them too long to recognize they were unexpectedly outmatched.

"Hah, hah!" Dodoria gave a head-butt to one of the Namek warriors after catching him by surprise. At his earliest opportunity, he stopped him in his tracks and quickly crushed his neck. Another warrior attempted to throw the most power-driven punch and skillful footwork he could ever give, but it did nothing to stop the relentless Dodoria.

"Fool!" Dodoria used his elbow to strike him, the thorns protruding from his arm gave life-threatening damage to the Namek warrior. He was killed instantly and Dodoria relished this sight.

Zarbon was having a one-on-one combat with the last Namekian warrior. As he struggled to overcome Frieza's henchman, Zarbon was hardly breathing at all as he evaded his moves with ease. The Namek warrior had no choice but to use up all energy from his body to release his most powerful beam. His attack directly hit Zarbon and left a cloud of smoke behind.

He breathed heavily, hoping he may have slowed him down, but Zarbon suddenly appeared from this haze without warning, catching him off-guarded. He gracefully went behind him and sent a shocking kick to his neck, breaking his bones inside. Zarbon then lifted his hand, his palm emitting flashing lights, which became separate, fiery rays that pursued his opponent. They shot all three of the Namekian warriors at the same time, killing them in the process.

Zarbon resurfaced on the ground without a scratch to be seen on his body. Another strand of his hair was in the way of his face and so he flicked it with his fingers. "Hmph."

The Namekians cannot believe their heroes had fallen right before their eyes. They were enraged to see their brothers fall while others were afraid that there was no hope for them and to their planet anymore.

Krillin was shocked. "Oh man, they killed them! How they're supposed to do that?!"

Raditz could feel this rage about to explode from within. He wished he could have done something to prevent all of this from happening, but it was also a dicey decision to make considering Frieza and King Cold were in the way. He was so close, yet so far from saving these helpless Namekians.

Krillin felt Raditz's power reacting again to his emotions. He reminded him, "Raditz, calm your power down. We need to-"

However, Raditz interrupted him. "And see more of them die? No…we need to do something now!"

"What?" asked Krillin. "B-but how? Can we last against guys like that?"

Raditz remained silent this time, yet he was in very deep thought.

"Now," Dodoria turned to Moori and decided that he should give the pain that he deserved for destroying their scouters, "you won't be escaping from me now!" and in a flash, he teleported in front of him, delivering a surprising punch to his face. For some reason, Dodoria did not put enough power into that attack and so, Moori was still alive and he could still breathe, but he felt his body almost paralyzed, stinging in agonizing pain.

"Moori!" Cargo and Dende burst into tears to see their village elder like this. They rushed to his aid, shaking him desperately.

Moori was coughing up blood, but he quickly whispered to his children in their native language, saying that they needed to go and save themselves. He asked them to warn "Guru" and "Nail" about these unfortunate circumstances.

"That was just a warm-up," Dodoria declared, cracking his knuckles again. "And now this time, you and those brats will be sent to your dooms!" immediately, he prepared for his final blow that will obliterate them all.

Frieza ordered him to stop though since he did not exactly instruct him to kill the village elder. "Wait a second, Dodoria!"

It was either Dodoria did not hear him or his keen desire of annihilating those whom he found bothersome did not make him listen. Even Zarbon had to call out his comrade to halt or else, that will come as absolute disobedience to their master's orders.

Moori, Cargo, and Dende gasped in fright, thinking it was truly the end for them. The other Namekians were still locked up in chains could only watch in horror to see their ends approaching.

Dodoria opened his mouth and a flashing light formed from the inside of his throat. "Hah, hah! Now! …AUGH!" but, all of a sudden, the outcome had unexpectedly changed when Dodoria felt an intense and uncontrolled punch to his cheek. Dodoria was blown away and he accidentally bumped against Frieza's pod.

Frieza, King Cold, and the rest were shocked.

"What's going on?" asked King Cold.

Immediately afterwards, two people emerged and entered the battlefield. They appeared to be very different from the rest.

"Come on!" a voice echoed in the air and that voice came from Raditz. He was seen soaring from the skies and coming back down, sliding his feet against the surface. What he was about to do was too fast to be seen, he launched an immediate energy blast towards the ground, which created this haze and these clouds of smoke, blocking everyone's visions and making everyone cough.

"What was that?!" Zarbon questioned, covering his eyes.

Raditz was not done yet. With haste, he ran and startled one of the minions who was carrying the DragonBall he stole from this village. He instantly blew him away with a sheering kick, breaking his chest plate into pieces and knocking him out at the same time. Raditz took the DragonBall with him and then he dashed towards Moori, Cargo, and Dende.

Krillin was with Raditz although his legs were shaking from too much fright, knowing they were definitely entering the grounds of such powerful enemy forces. Nevertheless, he came to Cargo and Dende and told them, "Hang tight!" Cargo and Dende were too shocked; they could not even ask who they were. Before they knew it, Krillin had picked up the both of them and he lifted himself a few feet into the air, prepared to take flight.

The haze disappeared slowly and slowly while the remaining minions, Frieza himself, and his father were in shock still. Raditz was now seen carrying the DragonBall and the injured Moori over his shoulder.

The imprisoned Namekians wondered who they were. "What are they?"

For just one second, Frieza's bloody eyes stared into Raditz's and immediately, their resentment grew.

"Let's go!" Raditz shouted, engulfed by his own aura, which burst and sparked, acting on impulse. With a DragonBall under his right arm and carrying Moori over his left shoulder, he took great speed and left the enemy grounds. Krillin followed him from behind while holding Cargo and Dende closely to his arms. Both he and Raditz wished they could have saved the rest of the Namekians, but for now, this was the best they could do.

King Cold had a grave stare, seeing how their plans were unexpectedly being thwarted. Despite of the haze blocking their visions, he quickly pointed his finger at an angle and from the tip of it, a damaging and intensifying beam, ought to be filled with a great deal of power, was shot out. It headed straight towards Raditz.

Raditz sensed this right away, his instincts heightening. He turned his head, his eyes widening. "What?!" fortunately, he was able to evade it, but barely, and this violet, laser beam scratched his right shoulder instead. Blood immediately came out, bringing him to agonizing pain instantly.

"-a-augh!" this pain was unexpected and all too much, but he tried to fight this. He cannot stop even for a brief second or else, their enemies will catch up with them.

Krillin was surprised to see this vibrant beam coming out of nowhere. It quickly lost energy and it vanished into thin-air. "Woah, what was that?!" the moment he turned his head to look at Raditz, he noticed his bleeding shoulder. "What the? Raditz, are you okay?! Did they hit you?"

Raditz bit his lip, feeling like he wanted to scream, but he endured this burning sensation. He told him, his voice struggling a little, "I-I'm fine. Just keep going!"

King Cold continued to have his finger pointed towards the skies while looking displeased. "My full-powered Death Beam missed him…hmm…he's definitely a Saiyan, but…why didn't he fall that easily?"

As for Frieza and his men, they finally realized whom they had suddenly met up with.

"Sire, wasn't that Raditz?!" Zarbon asked the tyrant with surprise.

"B-but I thought he was dead!" Dodoria cried, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought he was on our side!"

Frieza's hands were turning into angered fists. Before he could fully comprehend what just happened, they had already fled right before his eyes. "No, not anymore. Vegeta must've brought in some reinforcements to help him out. These insolent Saiyans…! I should've known they had always wanted to rebel," he then furiously slammed his tail against his pod. "What are you guys just standing there?!" he glared at his ten henchmen who were just trembling and doing nothing. "They just stole a DragonBall from me! Go kill them NOW!"

"Y-yes, Sire!" Frieza's minions were intimidated, but they did as they told and so, all ten of them tried to catch up with the fleeing Raditz and Krillin.

Frieza's blood was boiling as he watched them leave. He already despised his minions and he will not hesitate to kill them if they miserably fail him again. While his red pupils seemed like they were becoming a much redder color due to his rage inside, more shadows suddenly passed right before his eyes. He quickly looked up and saw five pod-shaped ships traveling across the atmosphere. They looked exactly like Saiyan pods, but on the front of each of ship was a symbol. It had an oval-shaped circle and it was overlaid with a white-colored V-shaped. An upside-down blue triangle was placed in the middle of that white space. This emblem represented the so-called illustrious elite force of Frieza had relied on for a very long time.

King Cold crossed his arms. He looked up. "Looks like your back-ups have arrived."

"Just about time…the _Ginyu Force_ shows up!" Frieza snarled.

Zarbon and Dodoria stared at their master, their eyes wide and with looks of disbelief. They were not informed about this matter at all. The Ginyu Force _is_ Frieza's most powerful elite force who had worked for him for long, but why did he have to summon them at this time?

Frieza suddenly turned to his right-hand men and he began lecturing them. "And you two! Why didn't you anticipate Raditz's attacks?! You know well that worthless, low-class Saiyan is a lot weaker than both of you!"

His right-hand men tried to explain themselves, but they could not force any words to come out from their mouths. Dodoria wanted to say otherwise, but he could not. Nevertheless, he got a taste of Raditz's new and unexpected power. Even without the use of his scouter, he could not believe how much strength he was currently wielding. Was he doing some secret training? How did he get very strong?

King Cold turned around and saw that Frieza's minions had gone down to only Dodoria, Zarbon, and the four scouts who were still guarding the imprisoned Namekians. The rest of Frieza's minions were back in his ship, guarding the Namekians that they had already captured a few days ago.

He then turned his eyes towards the DragonBalls in front of him. They went back to five of these magical orbs.

"Stop wasting your breath, Frieza," King Cold told him. "Besides, your Ginyu Force will be coming at any moment. We'll get all the DragonBalls back. After all, we still have five in our possession."

Frieza finally calmed himself after a while. "I guess you're right, Father. The odds are still stacked against them, not us. I've asked the Ginyu Force to bring along the new set of scouter models, so we should be able to track the DragonBalls down easily again."

He turned to his four scouts and ordered them to get these captured Namekians to his ship. His minions forced the helpless creatures to move on their feet again while treating them harshly.

Frieza had his eyes set on the empty, abandoned village in front of him while he vowed to himself and to the rest, "The next time we meet our transgressors, I won't be as lenient as before…"


	9. A Huge Threat

Episode 54

A Huge Threat

Frieza's four scouts led the way and the imprisoned Namekians must follow them from behind. They were walking tiredly on their chained and aching feet for miles. Frieza, his father, and his two right-hand men flew in the skies instead to meet up with the Ginyu Force as soon as possible. Zarbon and Dodoria kept two DragonBalls underneath arms while King Cold carried the fifth one.

While riding on his hovering pod, Frieza had a grin plastered on his face, knowing that with all the elite recruits he had summoned now, he will be unstoppable.

Meanwhile, Krillin and Raditz continued to fly off to the opposite direction, trying to escape from the ten henchmen whom Frieza sent to eliminate them and retrieve the DragonBall that they took. They took haste, immediately emerging from behind, intending to stop them from their tracks.

"There he is!" cried one soldier.

"That Raditz," growled another one. "You deserved to get killed by Lord Frieza!"

Krillin continued to hold Dende and Cargo in his arms. He turned his head. "Man, they're gaining up on us! We have to go faster!"

His aura reacted to his burst of speed, leave behind jets of air and trails of his blue aura. Raditz tried to keep up with him, but the terrible wound on his right shoulder was slowing him down.

It did not take Krillin long to find out that his friend was quick falling behind. He knew that the wound was quickly draining his energy, almost paralyzing his entire body.

Raditz was grunting in pain, but he tried to disregard this, yet, the more he fought it, the fainter he was suddenly feeling. He slowly turned his head to look behind him and noticed that the ten soldiers were definitely getting closer and closer. One attempted to fire a laser beam from his weapon, but Raditz and Krillin were able to get out of the way to avoid it.

"Oh man, what should we do?" Krillin was trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, the sun of this planet spread its rays to him, making him almost having to cover his eyes since they were vivid and almost glowing. When the sunlight spread across his skin, he suddenly came up with a brilliant idea.

"That's it!" Krillin realized. He quickly grabbed the attention of the two Namekian children. "Hey, guys, I know this might sound strange, but I need you two to close your eyes!"

Cargo and Dende stared at him with so much bewilderment. All the events that were happening to them now made no sense and were all in tangles.

"Just trust me on this!" Krillin convinced them.

Cargo and Dende were rendered speechless still, but they did as they were told and closed their eyes and buried their faces close to their chests. Krillin also told Raditz to shut his eyes as well as he had a clever, old trick up in his sleeves.

Once everyone's eyes were closed, Krillin instantly changed direction and went straight to the ten henchmen who were continued to pursue after them. The Frieza soldiers saw this and thought that the monk warrior was being desperate, he had decided to surrender to them; however, it was the complete opposite of what they had predicted.

Krillin suddenly placed his fingers on his forehead and with the power of the sun coming from this planet, he yelled, "Solar Flare!" immediately, white and vivid lights dispersed from his hand, flashing at their enemies' eyes. The henchmen immediately stopped from their tracks as this blinding light hurt them.

Their visions were temporarily blurred and they could not see a thing. Even if they rubbed their eyes enough, it did little to have their sights restored to normal.

"Aah, what the?!" yelled some of the henchmen.

"I can't see!" cried others.

"What did he do? That filthy fool!" cursed another.

Cargo, Dende, and Raditz opened their eyes again and thought that what Krillin did was really a clever plan.

However, Raditz believed he needed to end this pursuit once and for all. Still carrying the injured Moori over his shoulder and the DragonBall underneath his arm, he dashed towards the confused and startled soldiers.

"Rargh!" with energy from his body, Raditz thrust out an invisible force field from his chest, which vibrated in the atmosphere. The force field struck all ten soldiers and he sent them crashing into mountains and cliffs. Some fell into the rivers and all of them were completely knocked out.

Krillin cheered. "All right! Nice going, Raditz! …h-huh?"

But their celebration was cut short as Raditz was taken into more dreadful pain than ever as the blood from his shoulder cannot seize from bleeding. He breathed heavily while coming across this alarming sensation that he was going to lose conscious at any moment.

Raditz forced himself to surface on a small island. He released Moori from his shoulder who was still hurt from injuries. He also let go of the DragonBall from his hand to release the heavy weight he was carrying. Krillin followed him, wondering what was going on with him. He had also let go of Cargo and Dende.

"Elder!" Cargo and Dende went by Moori's side to see if he was all right.

Moori opened an eye, having no idea what just happened. He only knew that he, Cargo, and Dende were able to escape from death.

"My brethren…did…someone save us?" Moori asked, pausing in between words.

"I…I guess so," Cargo was a little uncertain.

Moori was convinced though that these two mysterious beings that had apparently saved them from the tyrant's clutches had come to this planet for good intentions. "I believe these two gentlemen are pure at heart…you know," suddenly, he coughed up more blood, still feeling injured from when Dodoria gave his brutal attack.

"Don't worry, Elder Moori. You're gonna be better, I promise," Dende assured. He knelt down beside him and he began to spread his tiny hands over the village elder. Few moments later, his hands faintly glowed and it appeared to be this gifted child was performing some kind of ritual.

"That's right," Cargo began to smile. "You have the power to heal after all, Dende!"

Moori started to smile as well. Then, he heard Krillin talking to Raditz.

"Hey, are you all right?" Krillin asked, helping him to lean against a tall boulder that was on this island.

Raditz held his bleeding shoulder. Even trying to move now was making him endure too much strain on his body. He grinded his teeth together and really felt like he was going to pass out.

"Oh man!" Krillin panicked even more. "What am I supposed to do?"

The monk warrior feared the worse, but Moori saw a solution to this. Moori held Cargo's shoulder to grab his attention and asked him in a soft voice, "My son, please heal that injured man over there."

Cargo pointed to himself with uncertainty. "…me? But, are you sure?"

"Just remember what I showed you, Cargo," Dende said who continued to heal Moori. "It shouldn't be that bad."

"But it's such a rare gift. You were born with it, Dende," Cargo mentioned, "and I wasn't. You only taught me. Will it be enough to help him?" he referred to Raditz. There was no mistaking the uncertainty in his voice.

Moori sensed the doubt in his heart, but he tried to give him some encouragement. "Just remember what we've taught you, Cargo. I know you can do it."

The village elder had hopes for him and so did his brother, Dende. Cargo finally decided that he should give it a try, understanding what he needed to do. He ran towards Krillin and Raditz.

Raditz bit his lip, grunting in agonizing pain as his wound almost conquered him.

"Just hold on, Raditz!" Krillin exclaimed.

At this time, Cargo had finally arrived and knelt beside Raditz. Without any delay, he spread his hands over his bleeding shoulder. It took him much, much longer than Dende to be able to bring out his healing powers, but with enough concentration and belief in his heart, he was able to do it with success. Even Cargo was astonished with himself that he can finally do it.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Krillin was confused.

"I'm taking care of his wound," Cargo replied calmly.

"Wait, you have the power to heal? That's amazing," Krillin remarked.

"No," Cargo shook his head. "I wasn't born with it. My brother, Dende, is, but it seems like every Namekian has this ability, but it takes a lot of patience and teachings to learn this. It's a lot easier when you have the natural talent."

"Hah, hah, like singing," Krillin joked around a little.

Raditz kept taking heavy breaths, but as soon as Cargo's healing powers began to take effect, he realized that the wound was gradually vanishing from his right shoulder. He glanced at it while feeling almost rejuvenated.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, Goku was still riding on top of Nimbus. He finally made a full stop at Capsule Corp. He hopped off from Nimbus and bid his trusted cloud a fond farewell. Nimbus took off again into the skies.

Goku entered the backyard of the dome-shaped house. This house was where Bulma and her parents lived in. When he arrived in the backyard, he saw a lot of blooming flowers in the garden. He also noticed that Mrs. Briefs was there, watering the plants while singing her heart out.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Briefs!" Goku greeted her.

She turned around and was very delighted to see him. She greeted him ever so cheerfully. "Hmm? Oh, Goku! How are you?"

"Feeling much better now!" Goku stretched his arms out a bit. He then placed his hands on his blue belt. "So, um, is your husband done with that ship?" he asked, that being the reason he was here.

She placed a hand on her cheek, apologizing that her husband was not done with it yet, but he is working on it day and night to have it done.

Goku did not expect this. "Oh…heh, heh, really? But, you know, I _really_ need to get to Namek. Hah, hah!" he laughed nervously.

"I'll tell you what. Why not we go check on it?" she suggested.

"That'll be a good idea," Goku said.

Mrs. Briefs led Goku to the laboratory. While doing so, she asked him a lot of questions about his family. "So how's your cute little son? I'm dying to meet him again! I'm sure he's gonna grow up to be a handsome gentleman just like you."

"He's doing fine. And he's turning out to be a great, determined fighter these days," he answered proudly.

"And how's your wife, Chi-Chi? I haven't seen her since you set up that reunion party like more than a year ago. Shame on you, Goku! You should visit more often."

"Sorry, it's just that I've been busy lately."

"And how're your father and brother doing? I bet they're as strong as an ox, just like you, Goku!"

Goku simply laughed this time.

The two went inside the laboratory and Mrs. Briefs greeted her husband from there. Dr. Briefs was seen tweaking and adjusting the ship's engine. Mrs. Briefs then quickly got some refreshments for both her husband and Goku to enjoy.

Goku had a pineapple smoothie and he liked the flavor very much. "Mmm, this is good!"

"My goodness," Mrs. Briefs complimented her husband's work. "This is a really beautiful ship, honey!"

"Yeah," Goku agreed with her. "It's really huge."

"Wait 'till you see what the inside looks like," Dr Briefs took the short flight of steps to get closer to the ship's door.

Goku's ship was spherical in shape and had four very short legs. It had several small windows, which went around the ship. The company's name "Capsule Corp" was imprinted at the front to show that it was made exclusively here.

"I'll go get some biscuits while you two explore the ship," Mrs. Briefs quickly went back to the kitchen.

Goku turned to Dr. Briefs. "I know you're still working on this ship, but did you try to repair my old ship, the one that I landed with when I was a baby?"

"Sadly, I tried repairing it, but I guess it's just been sitting there for so many years, the engine just died. Not to mention, it had a lot of damage from when it landed, most likely," Dr. Briefs thought.

"Oh, bummer," Goku expressed. "Probably I smashed it too hard when I was a baby or something."

"Well, anyways, I installed everything including your training materials." Dr. Briefs added who was now opening the door.

"Really?" Goku asked. "Even the gravity room?"

"Yes, of course. The maximum you can get is 100xG, which far surpasses Earth's gravity. Be careful though. It's wise if you take your training step-by-step at a time. You don't want stress yourself out too much," he strongly advised him.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful. I need to do some heavy training though before I get to Namek," Goku let him know.

Dr. Briefs finally opened the door, letting him see what was inside. Goku entered and was amazed by its vastness and wide space. Everything looked to be in order.

"Wow, you really did all of this? This is amazing!" Goku exclaimed.

"Yes, of course!" Dr. Briefs said. "Now, down the stairs is where your kitchen, bathroom, and your bedroom are. Just follow the green arrows and it leads to you these rooms-"

As he talked, Goku immediately became confused since he was speaking in a manner as if his ship was finished built even though Dr. Briefs claimed that it was not. He had to interrupt him. "Hold on, but I thought you said you were still working on it?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm not finished with it yet because I need to add one final piece," Dr. Briefs held up one finger, "and that's to add the café cappuccino machine."

Goku could not believe what he was hearing. So he was waiting all this time for this one, tiny, extra installment, which can be irrelevant for his trip after all? "Say what?! You're not finished because you need to add a café machine?!"

"What's wrong?" Dr. Briefs asked, a bit confused himself. "A good cup of coffee every morning will help you start your day right and keep you awake. You can't go without it!"

"But I have no time for some stupid café thing! I need to get to Namek right now!" Goku insisted.

He had no idea why he was rushing all of a sudden. "But it'll only take a day or two. It's not like Namek is gonna go anywhere."

"Yeah, but Bulma and the others need my help on Namek. Something went up, so I have to hurry! Come on, just please tell me how to fly this thing!" Goku began to panic a bit.

Dr. Briefs may have to skip the cappuccino machine after all although he was looking forward to install it. He rubbed his beard. "Okay then, so I guess there's no time to waste. All you have to do is to press the very large button on the control device and you're off to Planet Namek in no later than six days."

"Six days? Wow, and to think Bulma and the others took them like a month or so," Goku said. Of course, he was not aware that there was actually a ten-day shortcut to Namek. "All right, Doc, thanks a lot!"

Goku quickly finished the rest of his pineapple smoothie. He then went inside this newly built ship to start on his journey as soon as possible.

Soon, Mrs. Briefs came back, holding a tray full of biscuits and cookies she baked ten minutes ago. She was now with Oolong and Puar who had come to see Goku after hearing the news that he was back in tip-top shape.

"You said Goku was in here?" Oolong asked along with Puar who was floating beside him.

"Of course!" Mrs. Briefs said. "He came here to see the ship."

However, even if Oolong and Puar wanted to meet him, they were a bit too late to do so since Goku was already in the ship and plotting coordinates in. "Okay, I guess this is the right button," he then pressed the largest button that was on the control device. Immediately, his ship shook, creating turbulence on the floor that it was standing on. The roof of Dr. Brief's laboratory opened up in response to the ship's take-off countdown. After the countdown was done, the ship quickly took off into the skies and into the universe, leaving clouds of smoke behind.

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled.

"He's leaving already?" Mrs. Briefs asked.

"Goku! Wait!" Puar tried to call out to him.

"And I didn't get to say 'Hi' to him!" Oolong mentioned.

Scratch, Dr. Briefs' pet cat who always rode on his owner's shoulder, was disturbed by this quake and he screeched. "Meooww!"

Dr. Briefs coughed from all this smoke, but he was glad that the ship was working properly after all.

Once the spacecraft had left the atmosphere and had returned to normal speed after enduring turbulence from its take-off, Goku noticed that the room had fallen completely silent. He quickly felt something was missing.

He sighed. "Huh, I didn't know it was gonna be this quiet…and lonely, too," he crossed his arms, but he had no time to be thinking about this. Other important matters were at hand. He needed to start training now so that he can be fully prepared for the upcoming challenges ahead.

He got up from his seat while tying his blue belt and fixing his wristbands. "Okay then, it's time for training! Only six days to get stronger…since King Kai's planet has 10xG, I should start at 20xG!"

Goku went inside the gravity room and he adjusted the settings to the desired gravity. Once he felt this pull, he almost fell to the floor. Nevertheless, he resisted this and kept his body stiff and firm. To warm himself up, he planned to circle around the training room to get used to this gravity as soon as possible.

While doing so, he realized, "Wow, this is pretty intense! Should've started at 15xG!"

On Namek, Cargo had finished healing Raditz. At this time, Moori was completely cured from his wounds. He and Dende were now watching Cargo performed his healing powers. Once the wound had disappeared from Raditz's shoulder, his eyes opened wide, having this sense of rejuvenation both in his mind and in body. The once agonizing pain that was overtaking him had completely disappeared as if the injury he received was not there in the first place.

"You did it, Cargo!" Dende praised him.

"Wow, I never thought I'll be able to do it," Cargo stared at his tiny hands.

Krillin was relieved to know that his friend was all right. "You're okay now, Raditz! Gosh, I don't know how to thank you guys," he smiled at the Namekians.

Raditz was simply amazed. He held his shoulder, moved it a bit, but there was no pain at all. He also did not have to struggle to stand on his two legs again. He gazed at the skies above him, breathing in the air. He then gave his utmost gratitude to the Namekians.

Cargo and Dende smiled back.

Elder Moori stepped forward and had a conversation with them. He wanted to know their reasons for being in this planet. "You gentlemen, you were the ones who saved us back there? But why?"

Krillin assured him, "Don't worry. We're on your side. It's a long story, but friends of ours back where we live, which is Earth, had passed away from a battle we recently fought there. We thought that we might come here, to Namek, and use your DragonBalls to wish them back."

Moori was apparently surprised how he knew about the DragonBalls.

"Well, we have two Namekian friends who resided on Earth all their lives," Krillin said. "And one of them has the power to make the DragonBalls. Their names are 'Kami' and 'Piccolo.'"

Moori seemed to be able to recognize that one name. "Kami? Wait, I think I've heard of that name before, but that was back a long time ago when our planet was going through a lot of instability while going through radical changes in the atmosphere. Perhaps some of our fellow Namekians had sent the young ones to the distant corners of space in order to get them out of our planet's chaos back then. Perhaps this Kami is one of those children," he strongly assumed.

It clearly made sense, Krillin and Raditz thought, and it was the very reason why Kami and Piccolo very much looked different from the inhabitants of Earth.

Dende and Cargo saw the DragonBall that Raditz was carrying earlier ago. They went to it and held it.

"I'm sure you know that evil forces have come to invade our planet and steal the DragonBalls away from us," Moori quickly had a serious expression.

"We're well-aware of that," Raditz answered. He knew more about their enemies than anyone else in this planet did.

"At the moment, our people are falling into the hands of dark forces," from the inside, even though Moori was keeping his courage high, he was deeply worried for his people and for their planet. "We actually do not know what to do at this point. We're too weak to save our people from this heartless Frieza. He won't stop at nothing until he gets his selfish desire for immortality."

Raditz kept quiet, yet he could feel this burning emotion in his chest. As for Krillin, he tried to look at the positive side of their current situation.

"Hey, but since we were able to get one DragonBall from Frieza," Krillin pointed at it, "he should have a hard time finding it. I think for now, we should go into hiding and keep this DragonBall somewhere safe where no one can see it."

They agreed that it was the best decision they should do for now.

"Come on, we'll take you to our friend," Krillin referred to Bulma. He then began to laugh. "Hah, hah! She can be very bossy, but she's a brilliant inventor and scientist. She's a very good friend just as long you don't push the wrong buttons on her. She's found a very good hiding place where we can all stay in for the time being."

Dende, Cargo, and Moori believed that their friend seemed interesting. They were also very much convinced that he and Raditz can be trusted after all.

Krillin leveled with the two Namekian children. "Can you guys fly?" he asked.

Dende and Cargo told them that they certainly can, though they were still learning, they could manage. Moori informed him that he was perfectly capable of flying as well.

Krillin then picked up the Namekian DragonBall with him. Moori, Cargo, and Dende followed Krillin and Raditz from behind who led them the way to safety.

However though, not all Namekians in this planet had been notified about the unexpected invasion of their planet. There was actually a small group of Namekians still going about their daily lives in their unharmed and peaceful village. It was one of the few villages in this planet that had not been disturbed and had not seen the horrors of their people's ends and imprisonment; however, that might all change once more.

Vegeta was seen traveling in the skies. He was using his red scouter to locate any Namekians that were still alive. They may be carrying a DragonBall with them and so, he will have to accomplish this task fast in order for none of Frieza's men to be able to discover that he, the Prince of all Saiyans, had a DragonBall in his possession now.

Not too long, he found a village with several healthy Namekians living there. He had a raucous, prideful laughter. "Hah, hah! Frieza unfortunately missed an inch of this area. They probably have a DragonBall with them. Even if they don't, then I'll force them to talk where it is."

Vegeta immediately made his unwelcomed presence known by landing in front of the village. His presence already boded an ill omen.

The Namekians clearly noticed him and were already suspicious of his foreign appearance.

"Not a corpse yet to be seen. And I don't see a DragonBall anywhere," nonetheless, the Saiyan Prince had a sinister grin. "Well, we'll just see about that."

The Namekians began whispering, asking who he was, what race did he come from, and why he was here in the first place. What surprised them the most was how he knew about the DragonBalls.

Vegeta quickly questioned all of them, demanding where the elder was as well as their DragonBalls. No one answered, however. There was complete silence and because of this, the prince's patience was already being tried. He raised his voice and demanded an answer from them.

A wise, elderly Namekian, which was the village elder, finally approached him and told him in a straightforward tone, "We must apologize, but we cannot give what you seek for. Furthermore, we sense an evil desire in you. I highly advise that you leave this place immediately."

Vegeta was not easily persuaded. In fact, he declared to him, "What filthy lies, old man! That's all I've been hearing since I set foot on this puny planet. Let me ask again. Where's that DragonBall of yours?"

The elder still did not share any information concerning this. He only asked him to leave one more time.

Unfortunately, Vegeta was more of a greater threat than anyone else believed him to be. The innocent Namekians had no clue that they were already endangered.

With a cruel and merciless heart, he pointed his finger at the elder.

"Wrong answer," the ruthless Saiyan Prince warned them.

The older Namekians were questioning his actions, wondering what he was doing while the Namekian children trembled and hid behind their caretakers and houses. Everyone could sense that there was trouble in the air.

Vegeta smirked with such malice. "Bang."

Immediately, from the tip of his finger, a perilous, blood-colored blast was shot and headed straight towards the elder. His intentions were very clear. He was planning to annihilate them, but one brave Namekian warrior sacrificed himself and shielded the village elder. The prince's attack was dangerously powerful; it pierced through his chest. He blanked out and quickly fell to the ground, lifeless. The Namekians watched in horror to see their brother fall, deeply frightened and almost petrified to witness this in front of their eyes. They were not expecting and were not prepared for this kind of animosity at all.

Vegeta had another menacing grin. "Are you ready to talk? Or will I be forced to make you to?"

No one said a word. Everyone was completely shocked.

The Saiyan Prince had no choice then but to carry on with his torment amongst the Namekian, killing them one by one until one of them finally breaks and gives the answers that he needed.

Outside of Frieza's ship, there were guards patrolling outside. The other Namekians as well as almost all of the village elders whom were captured a few days ago by Frieza and his men, they were all locked away in the overlord's ship. They were distributed to three different rooms with enough space for them to breathe at least.

When the guards outside saw the five space pods landing from a distance, this signified to them that the Ginyu Force had arrived. After they landed, the members of this elite forced went ahead in front of Frieza's ship to wait for their master. He summoned them after all, which meant he must have an important task for them.

After waiting for a while, Frieza, his father, and his right-hand men had entered. Frieza continued to sit in his levitating pod. He instantly had a grin on his face once he saw the Ginyu Force waiting for him.

And his elite force saw him in return. With great allegiance, they immediately lined-up in front of their master.

Zarbon and Dodoria were quite amazed to see the Ginyu Force right in front of their eyes. Even though they knew of them very well, they had only seen them in a few occasions. Each five members of this galactic troop carried his own special ability in battle, which gave them the reputation for being devious, brutal, and skillfully strategic. They were certainly feared by those who had encountered them or even who knew of their name.

"Hah, hah, hah!" Frieza laughed with pride, knowing he was only a few days or perhaps even hours away to get the wish he had always wanted for.

"Rargh!" at the other side of the planet, Vegeta was wiping out every Namekian in the village in which he invaded to his will. The villagers who lived there had shockingly reduced from twenty to only six left, two of which were the only Namekian children living in the village including three young adult Namekians and the village elder himself.

Vegeta sent a ravaging fist straight to the face of one of the older Namekian, crushing his skull and ending his life there. Now, the numbers had been reduced to five.

The elder was shocked and terrified, he tried to stop the prince from his savage acts. "Stop this! What do you want from us?! Just leave us in peace!"

"I've already been telling you what I want!" Vegeta yelled at them with rage. "Where _is_ that DragonBall?!"

"I told you, we can never tell you where it is, not to someone whose intentions are selfish and for his own cruel desires!" the elder refused to give in.

Vegeta felt his unyielding attitude was only making his fellow people around him suffer. "Every time you resist, the more of your people fall. I'm sure you wouldn't allow this to happen further, will you?"

The elder could not say anything. It was all too much for him, he fell to his knees from all the horror and the bloodbath this Saiyan was causing. "Please, leave us be!" the elder begged. "Leave us in peace!"

The Saiyan Prince thought he should continue to threaten him by showing the remaining Namekians the grand finale that will finally make the elder talk. "You leave me no choice then," he said.

All of a sudden, he teleported near one of the two Namekian children who were trying to hide and escape. Vegeta pulled up the child close to him and almost chocked him on his neck. He had his left hand raised, which quickly electrified, gathering very perilous energy that will surely make the Namekian child disappear and fade into nothing.

"NO!" the elder cried out in horror.

The Namekian child being trapped in Vegeta's arms was coughing a lot, trying to gasp for more oxygen, his eyes shedding endless tears, crying and screaming for help. One of the two young adult Namekians tried to save the child, but Vegeta delivered an overwhelming and damaging kick to his abdomen, paralyzing his body and ending his life as well.

Now, there were only four left in the village.

Vegeta continued to strangle the child with his arm, draining every bit of his life. "Well?" he intimidated the elder.

The other Namekian child began to cry while the other older Namekian was completely frozen to his feet. As for the elder, that was his breaking point. He could not take it any longer and so, just before Vegeta had actually decided to end the child's life, the village elder cried in tears and finally told him where the DragonBall was.

"Please, stop this madness! Fine, I'll tell you where the last DragonBall is. It's with the Eldest Namekian, the Grand Elder of our people…he lives far away. It'll take you days to get to him, but that's where he is!" he desperately cried out.

" _Where_ exactly?!" Vegeta insisted to hear more information.

"O-over there!" he trembled, picking up his walking stick and pointing it straight behind the merciless prince.

Vegeta grinned evilly, knowing his torment had finally gotten him the answer that he wanted.

At the other side of the planet, the Ginyu Force had met up with Frieza and now, they had made their entrances. Being renowned as one of the most powerful elite forces in the entire galaxy, not only they looked powerful and robust, but they must also look…good and epic in front of their audience.

The members of the Ginyu Force introduced themselves one by one.

First, it was this sadistic, brute alien who looked more human in form. He had an abnormal, elongated face and his orange hair styled in a Mohawk hairdo. He was dressed in similar armor as the rest of Frieza's men wore only he had the symbol of the Ginyu Force imprinted on the left side of his chest plate (his other comrades also wore similar uniforms). He was bulky in size, his body built mainly for brute force and power. He did a pose of his own and said, "Whoo! I'm Recoome!"

Next member was the tallest one in the group. He had deep, blue skin with a few speckles on him. He was quite thin in shape, but nevertheless, muscular, his body conditioned for immense speed. He also had a plated head along with bright, red eyes. He did a pose similar to Recoome's. "Hello! Burter!"

The next one was another alien who was quite similar in appearance to Zarbon, only he was shorter in size and had a much more rock n' roll-like personality. His wild, white hair lengthened to his hamstrings. He had red, magma skin and he had bright, green eyes. He swayed his hair like a rocker style and spoke in an Australian-like accent. "Heh! Oh yeah!" he raised his hands in a V-form and said, "I'm Jeice!"

Next was the smallest member of the team. He had four eyes, olive-colored skin, and his size was quite comparable to Dodoria's. He may seem weak, but he held a special type of psychic power, which gave him the reputation for being sly and sneaky. He did a pose with a close-up image of his eyes. "Rargh, hyah! Guldo!"

Last, but not least, was the leader of this galactic gang. He had two black horns on each side of his head, had nerves on his forehead that were very visible to one's eye, and had light, purple skin. His body was well-conditioned for combat and he, too, also had hidden special powers. He was versatile and balanced in all types of attacks and defense, which can surprise any opponent who fought him. He did a special pose on his own and announced, "And Captain Ginyu!"

They were almost at the end of their brief introductory. The five members of the Ginyu Force then took turns, saying.

"Now-," Recoome began first.

"You-," Burter followed afterwards.

"See-," Jeice took his turn.

"The-," Guldo said his line.

"Power-," Ginyu was the last.

Once more, they performed another set of poses, putting a memorable end to their conspicuous and quite intimidating introduction. It may look like they did all these poses just to show off, but again, each member carried a special type of strength, those who come across them should fear who they were and what they were capable of especially in battle.

"-OF THE GINYU FORCE!" what started with a plain, solid background, it quickly transitioned into a background filled with roses, golden bells, gleaming bubbles, and smooth ribbons, which almost contradicted to their combined menace and arrogance.

"Uh…," Frieza was actually embarrassed, his cheeks turning red. He always had a slight problem with them being too much of perfectionists when trying to perfect their poses and everything.

Afterwards, he grinned nervously and praised their crazy creativity. "…well…that's quite an entrance, boys."

The Ginyu Force felt proud of themselves. "HAH!"

Meanwhile, back at the village, Vegeta was satisfied that the elder had finally told him where apparently the last DragonBall was. It made sense that this was kept with the wisest and eldest Namekian who lived in this planet.

However, Vegeta was not contented with the fact that the Namekians had to make him wait for this long and waste his breath just so he can receive a simple answer from them. The Saiyan Prince decided to wipe out every single inhabitant in this village anyway as their punishment for wasting his precious time.

"No, stop!" cried the village elder in sheer desperation. "I already told you what you seek for. Now, please, leave us alone!"

"Shut up, old man," Vegeta seriously said. Without any second thoughts, he was about to prepare the final impact that will turn this village into a barren wasteland until all of a sudden, his instincts and senses heightened.

"…what?" Vegeta immediately fell silent. He suddenly dropped the Namekian child from his arm and turned around, staring at the skies above him. The Namekian child coughed a lot, but he stood up and ran towards the village elder, embracing him for comfort. The village elder hugged him back, relieved that the child was all right.

Without the need for his scouter, the Saiyan elite had acquired the skill of sensing other people's life forces thanks to this near-death experience back on Earth. He wanted to make sure though that what he was sensing was accurate; therefore, he used his scouter. Based on the readings, his device picked up five different kinds of power levels.

Vegeta's eyes slowly widened as he found these numbers to be too familiar for him.

Instantly, a rush of panic plagued his entire mind, he felt his fingers fidgeting and his body shaking a little. He cannot believe what he was reading on his scouter.

"It can't be…why would _they_ be here?!" he questioned angrily. He then stared back at the lifeless and the remaining Namekians. He quickly thought he had no time dealing with them now. According to these apparently, enormous power levels he was picking up, he will be facing another obstacle, a greater threat. He cannot believe by what was occurring to him now, he took off his scouter, dropped it on the ground, and crushed it with his left foot.

"If Frieza's thinking of taking drastic measures just so he can get the last DragonBalls, he's sadly mistaken," his fists tightened with more anger written on his face. "I'll…I'll be the one who's going to be immortal!" he declared. His apprehension and rage had his aura emerge from his body, violently surrounding him. With haste, he dashed into the tainted skies, leaving no trace behind except for the atrocious scene he had caused to this innocent village.

 _Whoosh!_


	10. The Elite Force of the Galaxies

Episode 55

The Elite Force of the Galaxies

"Yeah!" the Ginyu Force cheered one more time.

The winds blew hard for a second before stopping. Frieza, King Cold, and the rest kept their eyes on them.

It seemed like Zarbon, Dodoria, and even King Cold were more embarrassed than Frieza was. Zarbon had his hand over his forehead while Dodoria was simply irritated with the Ginyu Force. As for King Cold, he was not amused at all. In fact, he thought he had literally wasted five minutes of his time looking at something he believed to be nonsensical and irrelevant, at least to his eyes.

"What is it about you and your brother having to hire an elite force that's too…odd?" King Cold asked.

Frieza felt irritated at his statement, not by his comment of the Ginyu Force, but when he spoke of his brother. "Don't _mention_ about my brother, Father. He's nothing but an eyesore."

King Cold smirked. "You two could never get along, will you?"

After the Ginyu Force returned to a straight line, they knelt down on one knee to bow to King Cold this time. "King Cold!" all five of them said at once.

King Cold said, "Hmph, at least they know how to show respect. There's more to them than just their silly poses after all."

Recoome kept his head down, but was quite disappointed to hear this. "Wha-? Silly?" he asked.

Guldo whispered to him back. "He thinks our poses are silly?"

"Shut up!" the leader, Captain Ginyu, commanded them to stop talking. "He's the king. He can say whatever he wants…at least Lord Frieza approves it."

Jeice unexpectedly said, "Of course we know how to show our respect to you, my king! We're here at your service-OW!"

Instantly, Burter smacked him on the neck. "Hey, be quiet! You're not supposed to say anything, idiot!"

The Ginyu Force bickered at each other and everyone could hear them despite their efforts of keeping their voices down. Already, three minutes after they arrived, they seemed like they were all a cooperative team, but now, they were acting like children and fighting each other.

Zarbon and Dodoria thought they were just being ridiculous.

Frieza was becoming impatient with them. He immediately grabbed their attentions. "Men, enough of this. Let's get down to business. I have an errand for you to do."

The Ginyu Force members stood up straight once more with their hands behind their backs.

The leader spoke up. "Yes, Lord Frieza. You summoned us here for a mission and that's why we're here."

"Yes, and it's quite a very easy mission," Frieza told them. "As you all know, I currently have all five DragonBalls in my possession. One of the last two has not been located yet, and the other one was stolen from me."

"Stolen? By who, Lord Frieza?" asked Ginyu, curious to know who this was.

"It's that impudent Raditz," Frieza said with disgust for his name, his eyes appearing to be a much deeper, red color due to his infuriation inside of him. "He's on Namek. Not to mention, Vegeta is here as well. It seems like either Raditz or Vegeta have brought along some reinforcements and have decided to join forces together, but I don't care who came up with the idea. What should be clear to you all is that these two worthless Saiyans have always been planning to overthrow me."

Ginyu gave a look. "Raditz and Vegeta, huh?"

"Hah, these Saiyans are stupid," Recoome laughed. "They don't even know what they're up against."

"Looks like the ego of that prince has finally gotten him into trouble," Burter remarked. "And the low-class is trying too hard to be an elite."

"So you finally showed your true colors, Vegeta? Hmm…," Guldo mumbled.

Frieza wanted them to be careful though. Vegeta had definitely changed since last time, his power increasing quite tremendously over the years and just recently after his one-year journey to Earth. The tyrant was actually unsure why he was there in the first place. He can guess that he went there for a mission that was of importance to the prince only.

"And how about Raditz, Lord Frieza?" Ginyu asked.

"Hmph," Frieza smirked. "He's a low-class Saiyan after all, so I'm not worried about him. His strength should still be miniscule compared to all of us."

The members of the elite force were wearing their scouters that were of the latest models. They put these devices to use to calculate Vegeta's current power level. His overall strength was still reacting to his burst of emotions, it allowed the Ginyu Force to read his maximum strength.

"Oh," Recoome was quite impressed by this number.

"Hmph, quite a significant power level, but it still won't be enough to stop us," Ginyu scoffed at this.

They had also picked up other power levels that were scattered across the area.

"Hmm," Ginyu gave a look.

"What's wrong, Captain Ginyu?" Frieza asked.

"There are other combat strengths here and there are quite a number of them," he reported. "Some are less than a hundred while the rest are all exactly 5,000. Still insignificant though."

Frieza believed that, that was Raditz and his friend who saved Cargo, Dende, Moori, and who also took one of his DragonBalls. He also suspected that there could be surviving Namekian warriors scouting about the area and in search for their missing wishing orbs.

"And what of them?" Captain Ginyu asked what they should do with them.

"I suppose you can kill them," Frieza mused, already conducting plans in his head. "In fact, kill all those who stand in your way including Raditz, but I don't want you to kill Vegeta yet. Who knows? Maybe he has the last DragonBall and has hidden it somewhere. If you find Vegeta, bring him back to me, so I can question him. Also, keep in mind that if you find a village elder, bring him to me as well. It's for the DragonBalls and I need them all to have them make my wish."

"Yes, Lord Frieza!" they obeyed his orders.

"There are two more DragonBalls to go," Frieza reminded them, "and with your scouters, it shouldn't take you too long to find them."

"Well," Jeice began to grin evilly. "Looks like we're goin' to have fun beating them to a pulp!"

"Yeah!" agreed Recoome. "Hey, let's make a bet. Whoever finds Vegeta, Raditz, _and_ a DragonBall first will get a whole buffet of chocolate and candy bars, what do you think?"

"I say that you're going to lose," Burter accepted his challenge.

Jeice laughed. "Heh, you may be the fastest in the universe, Burter, but you can never underestimate me, mate."

Ginyu assured their master whom they had served for so long, "Don't worry, Lord Frieza. We'll have all of them including Vegeta kneel down on their knees before they know it. We'll certainly teach them a lesson and help you make your wish happen."

The Ginyu Force was keen to start on their mission, but there was only one member in the team who was occupied with another thought and that was Guldo. In fact, he was thinking about Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince had always been his rival and enemy. He loathed his personality of always looking down on those who had far more authority than he did. There was a time that the Ginyu Force had recently hired a new member in their team, which was Guldo himself, and according to Frieza, the members were now in charge of keeping things in check and giving out orders; however, Vegeta always found ways of defying the Ginyu Force without letting the galactic overlord know.

Guldo had encountered Vegeta many times and warned him countless times more that he better start keeping to his pose and start obeying orders. On the other hand, the Saiyan elite constantly ridiculed him. He knew he was only saying this just to compete with him, to find out who was the strongest between the two. Of course, he was confident in his abilities he deemed superior, he can crush Guldo with just one finger. Vegeta always left him in the dust, humiliated and degraded.

After picturing his face in his head, Guldo gnashed his teeth together. "You'll pay for this…"

Recoome saw the look on his face and told his friend, "Woah, woah, hey, you got something in your eye there? Snap out of it."

Guldo was not paying attention to him. "Rrrgh…to seek revenge."

"Oh?" Recoome looked at him, puzzled.

Jeice approached Frieza and King Cold. He had a green case with him and he presented it to them. "These are the newest models of scouters you asked for, Lord Frieza. We have four for you, Zarbon, Dodoria, and King Cold."

"I'm glad you remembered these," Frieza took the case with him. He turned to Zarbon and Dodoria. "I want you two to get those DragonBalls inside my ship. I also have a task for you both."

"Yes, my lord," his right-hand men hurried inside their master's ship, placing the DragonBalls in a neat circle in the interior where the main controls were.

King Cold gave the fifth DragonBall to one the guards patrolling outside. He ordered him to put it inside the ship as well. "And be quick about it."

"Y-yes, King Cold!" the guard trembled, but kept a firm posture. He hurried inside the ship to keep the DragonBall safe there.

Frieza turned to the captain of the galactic troop and told them they should leave immediately and commence on their assignment.

Captain Ginyu faced his fellow companions. "Ginyu Force, go and march!"

They ended their meeting by doing another one of their choreographies. Everyone lined up in a row by height. Burter was at the very back, Recoome followed him, Captain Ginyu was in the middle, next was Jeice, and the last one was Guldo.

Zarbon and Dodoria had returned, but to their dismay, they were forced to watch one of the Ginyu Force's ridiculous poses again.

"Looks like we came at the wrong time," Dodoria said, irritated.

The Ginyu Force marched and paced around, getting themselves pumped up for their assigned mission. Burter and Recoome paired up and slammed their elbows at each other while Guldo and Jeice did the same. This little presentation was beginning to discomfit Frieza even more.

The illustrious gang of the galaxy then formed a ring and came closer to each other. As they almost closed the gap of their circle, they bent their arms and legs, shouting their team's name. "Ginyu Force!" they circled counterclockwise this time and kept jogging in place.

Frieza still felt embarrassed. He chanced a glance from his father who he found staring back at him, looking aggravated himself. Dodoria can be seen covering his ears while Zarbon lightly slapped his forehead again with distaste.

As the Ginyu Force kept performing their choreography, Jeice suddenly said to Frieza's right-hand men, "Hey, Dodoria, Zarbon, if you like, it's not too late to join the Ginyu Force!"

"No," was their simple answer.

Ginyu suddenly shouted at him, "Hey, don't ask them that, Jeice! I'm not hiring any new recruits at this time or else, they might cramp our style!"

"Sorry, Capt'in!" apologized Jeice nervously.

Dodoria and Zarbon raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by style? If he meant in terms of their poses, then yes, they will absolutely cramp them since they just found them absurd and inane.

All five members of this prestigious squad lined up one more time, powering up and increasing their fighting statuses. They raised their arms halfway through the air. "GO!"

Finally, they spread across the skies and left in a perfect row formation.

The rest stared at them in silence.

Frieza continued to smile nervously. He then cleared his throat, his cheeks still red. Afterwards, he showed a serious expression. "…Zarbon, Dodoria, come forward."

They faced him and waited for his orders.

Frieza opened the green case and showed the brand new scouters inside. "Both of your tasks are just as simple as the Ginyu Force has. If you fail me again…then you're no longer fit to serve me," he stated this without second thoughts.

He was being very serious with them, Dodoria and Zarbon felt anxious already.

"Oh…and if you find Raditz, kill him and retrieve the DragonBall he stole. Am I clear on this?" he gravely stared at them, his cold eyes almost petrifying them.

Zarbon and Dodoria felt pressured, but they knew they needed to try hard enough now or else, it would mean certain death for them. They put on their new scouters, bowed their heads to him and to King Cold. The two were then surrounded by their auras as they took off into the skies and left in another direction.

Meanwhile, the Ginyu Force stopped midway in their journey. They discussed that they should split up and search at different locations until they find either signs of Namekians, Vegeta, Raditz, or a DragonBall in sight. Ginyu said that all of them should return in this same, exact spot after a day or so to give reports and updates on anything they may find. Namek _is_ a huge planet after all; therefore, they needed enough time to cover every inch of this planet. They must accomplish this task efficiently and on time.

As the members split up in five different, separate directions, there was one person who was watching them all along. He was concealing himself in the darkest corners between adjacent canyons, leaving a narrow midline gap between the two. His heart was beating fast with much dread as his suspicions for their significant, high power levels were confirmed to be true by his senses.

That person appeared to be Vegeta. He was speaking to himself with a slight shake in his voice. "So…it _is_ the Ginyu Force after all. …am I…really that strong to take them all on?"

He may be the Prince of all Saiyans, renowned for his immense strength and tenacity especially in battle, but for once, he admitted that the members of this illustrious force can prove to be a challenge for him. He would have to face a dilemma. Attempting to search the DragonBall on his own may lead him into having to confront of the Ginyu Force members, but if he tried to actually get closer to Frieza and somehow steal at least one DragonBall from him, it was still a risk to take.

He had always desired for immortality, to use eternal life, triumph over Frieza, and finally end his reign. He remembered what the village elder said, who spoke of the Eldest Namekian possessing the last DragonBall. He did say it might take him days to meet him, but what other choice did he have now?

"I got nothing to lose," at last, Vegeta emerged from the shadows while keeping his power down this time to not let any of the scouters locate his whereabouts. He decided that he should seek for the Eldest Namekian while understanding he was currently in this dicey situation.

Once everything looked clear, the Saiyan Prince soared to the skies and headed to another path while carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders.

The winds blew hard again, the sun continuing to shine across the islands, mountains, and rivers. Namek itself was going through so many unfortunate events; its inhabitants did not deserve any of this at all.

"Have you found anything yet, Grandpa?" asked Gohan who was floating in the air, looking down on the ground.

Gohan and Bardock continued to look for a DragonBall in sight, but they found nothing.

Bardock was walking around an island. He then lifted himself a few feet off into the air and met up with Gohan. "No, nothing."

"Wow," Gohan held his arms close to him. "It's not that easy to find the DragonBalls. How far _is_ this DragonBall anyway? Oh, that's right! We should've borrowed Bulma's Dragon Radar in the first place," he realized.

Bardock thought that might be a good idea, but he quickly realized it may not be after all. "I take it back. She only has one Dragon Radar, right? We don't want anything happening to it. We should just keep going in this direction until we find something."

The two of them kept heading northwest while keeping their energies as minimal as possible. After several more minutes of searching, Gohan finally found something up ahead and it appeared to be a small village.

"Look over there, Grandpa Bardock!" exclaimed Gohan.

Bardock looked up front and indeed, he saw what his grandson saw, but it was not what they expected. When they advanced towards this village, they were shocked by the horrifying sight of ruined Namekian houses and Namekians lying on the ground, lifeless. This was the same village that Vegeta had destroyed with his own two hands not too long ago.

Gohan felt distraught to the core. "What…what happened here? Who would do such a thing?!"

Bardock and Gohan noticed the village elder himself, embracing the two Namekian children. They were all traumatized while grieving for their fallen brethren. The only young adult Namekian left here was enraged with what the Saiyan elite had mercilessly done; however, he lamented more over the lost of his fellow people.

Bardock immediately settled on the ground, wanting to know what happened here. Gohan followed and he stood behind him.

The village elder quickly looked up to find new company in front of him, yet what happened to his people greatly overwhelmed him, he let his emotions take the best out of him and he began to make hasty assumptions about the two of them. "Who-who are you? Stay back! You're not welcome here!" he warned them.

Bardock tried to calm them down. "Please, we're not here to cause harm. We're here to-"

But the village elder angrily interrupted him. "Silence! You…that uniform you're wearing, you must be one of _his_ companions. You're here to kill the rest of us without any reason?!" he questioned in a thunderous voice.

Even the two Namekian children began protesting, demanding they should leave and get out of this planet.

"Careful, Elder," said the younger adult Namekian who was trying to protect him and the children.

Gohan was very confused. "What are they talking about, Grandpa Bardock?"

Bardock, without having to ponder too much, quickly figured out what went on here. His conclusion was validated when he saw pieces of a broken scouter on the ground. His eyes had a grave stare as he realized, "…it's Vegeta. He was here."

"Wait!" Gohan exclaimed. "You mean, Vegeta was the one who did all of this?"

Their conversation was cut short, however, when three Namekian warriors had entered the ruined village. Like the rest of the Namekian soldiers whom Frieza and his men had encountered many times, their duties were to protect their people and their lands, but even they, too, were decreasing in numbers. Nevertheless, they were still called upon to protect and so, they had come here after constantly hearing news of mysterious aliens attacking their people.

"Elder! What happened here?!" the three Namekian warriors ran immediately to him and the rest of the survivors here. All of them huddled together.

There was no need for explanations as they believed the answer was staring right in front of them. The three Namekian warriors locked their eyes on Bardock, believing _he_ was the one who caused this brutal scene.

Bardock's eyes widened. He quickly tried to explain himself that he and his grandson did not intend to harm them, yet, they did not listen to him by any means. In fact, judging by their expressions, Bardock had a strong feeling he might be forced to clash with these three Namekian warriors instead.


	11. The Test

Episode 56

The Test

"This is all a misunderstanding!" Bardock wanted them to listen to him first. "I already told you. We're not here to cause any harm. I know you saw the person who attacked your village and your people, but we're not one of them!"

The village elder released his hands from the Namekian children and faced Bardock. "I won't easily be persuaded…unless you can prove to me your integrity in battle."

"HYAH!" immediately, the three Namekians warriors advanced towards Bardock and fought him and only him, leaving Gohan alone for the time being. These warriors actually had other motives, not just testing his strength. In fact, they could care less about whom Bardock and Gohan were and if they were sincere or not. They must protect their people from anyone now.

"Wait!" Bardock tried to stop them.

They paid no attention to him. Instead, they caught him by surprise by throwing punches at his chest. Bardock was pushed back and was about to fall into the rivers, but quickly regained his stance. He darted towards the skies, the jet of air he left made the water behind him rose. It glistened under the sun.

"Grandpa Bardock!" Gohan cried, seeing how he was being attacked.

"Hold on a second!" Bardock tried to stop them somehow.

The three warriors gave a battle cry and were engaged in an intensive battle with him, throwing barrages of fists and displaying flexible footwork. Bardock had no choice but to avoid their attacks while not hurting them too much; just enough power to make them stop and listen.

One Namekian warrior dove down, his hands clasped together, about to go for a direct blow straight to his head. Bardock kept his focus intact and then, avoided his assault, rapidly moving over to the side. Once he swayed his entire body, he threw a sharp sidekick to his hip, propelling him a few feet away. The second Namekian warrior launched energy blasts at him, each containing different energies and intensities. Bardock concentrated on this, evading these blasts and using his hands to deflect them, having them explode in the background. He then took momentum and gave an uppercut to his chin, following with a turning sidekick. The last fighter tried to surprise him by going for a knee-strike to his abdomen, but thanks to his armor and level of his power, he did not flinch this time.

Bardock retaliated as he delivered a quick jab to his cheek and a force field at the end, making him collide with the second Namekian warrior. They regained their postures, however, and landed on top of a canyon.

The first Namekian warrior moved towards him with haste, but Bardock had more potential in him than he looked. He was able to sense him despite of distractions trying to divert his attention. At the right timing, the skilled Saiyan was able to grab his opponent's wrist, the hand that was meant to turn into a fist and hit him with it.

"Rargh!" with a vigorous yell, Bardock pulled the Namekian warrior closer to him while lifting his left foot and with it, he went for a strong hook kick on his back, making his opponent fall to the ground. He may have hurt him a little, but he was not injured, of course.

The three Namekian warriors were stunned by the astonishing potential that he was carrying. They could tell he was definitely no ordinary being.

"What is he?" asked the second Namekian warrior.

"He's so strong!" exclaimed the third.

Gohan was still worried about his grandfather. He asked if he was all right.

Bardock nodded to him, saying he was completely fine.

The village elder was worried himself, but slowly, he saw something in Bardock that could possibly tell he was telling the truth after all. He needed more evidence though and so, he must further test his integrity and true strength in his heart.

Bardock tried to speak to the confused beings. "Listen to me! We didn't come here for any purposes of evil. In fact, we may actually need your help!"

The Namekian warriors shook their heads, not believing in him at all. One of them declared, "Stop tricking us into your lies. You're part of the mysterious beings that have been attacking our people. There's no mistake!"

"I'm not trying to deceive you!" Bardock was becoming frustrated himself.

The three proceeded to attack him head-on while Bardock was left to keep finding out a way to convince them somehow.

On another side of the planet, Frieza and King Cold were inside the control room of Frieza's ship. It had a lot of space in it with a large window at front. There was only one high-backed chair at the center of the room, which was for Frieza. The DragonBalls that they had collected were on floor, glimmering from certain angles.

Frieza was out of his hovering pod and now, he was standing in front of the window with his arms crossed. He was waiting for the ten henchmen whom he sent to eliminate Raditz and his friend, Krillin, but they were taking too long just to accomplish this task.

He was tapping his fingers impatiently on his reptile-like skin. "It occurs to me…that they, too, have miserably failed me."

King Cold was walking around the room. He had a glass of wine in his hand, taking a few sips from it from time to time. "Is it the perfect time to lecture you now? But perhaps, it's not really your men's fault. You may be facing adversaries that are lot tougher than they look."

Frieza grunted. He was feeling nothing but infuriation for the past few days now; he vented it out through a seething voice. "Those are a lot of big words from someone who didn't even bring his own soldiers to this planet. And I thought you're supposed to be the king of our race with a son who looks up to you…," he then stared at him and changed his mind, "or maybe, you're not a good role model after all."

"Don't push it, Frieza," King Cold reprimanded, not liking his temper. "Our plans may be delayed, but that doesn't give you the right to start speaking to me that," he then faced him with a glare that was as cold as his was. "Besides, you should know me by now. I didn't _have_ to bring an army. I have all the indefinite power I need to crush any pest that's out there."

Frieza suddenly had a quiet laughter to himself. His lips curled into a grin. "I guess…we have a lot in common then, Father."

King Cold placed his glass of wine on a small, round table. He then pushed his cape back to see the sword attached to his waist. He had not used this blade in a while, but he knew this weapon of his would come in handy at some point. With that being in mind, he then stood in front of the DragonBalls. On their polished surfaces, he could see his reflection on them.

"So where are the village elders exactly?" asked King Cold.

"The Namekians are locked away in the basement, which is located at the lowest level of my ship," Frieza answered.

"Hmm…and if we find any more of these Namekians, I can lock them away in my ship if more space is needed," King Cold said.

"Where did you land yours anyway?" his son asked.

"Just two miles from here," King Cold said. "Don't worry. No one would bother do anything to it. After all, I came here by myself."

Silence, once again, took hand until another question came to King Cold. "This 'Raditz' you mentioned before, who is he exactly? I certainly know Vegeta, but not any of his Saiyan companions."

Frieza felt the grip on his hands becoming tighter. Just picturing their faces made him feel disgusted; essentially, the faces of all Saiyans. The only reason why he decided to spare Raditz, Vegeta, and Nappa after destroying their home planet was that he needed a few Saiyan recruits in his army. He needed them for their abilities of conquering planets much faster and more capably. He knew at the back of his mind though that one day, they will find out the truth about their home planet's destruction and may decide to rebel against him.

His prediction came true. That day had come, but he was not worried at all. Actually, if he was in the mood, he liked the feeling of it. Their defiance and long-awaited revolt would force the tyrant to reveal all of his terrifying power and supremacy that'll surely overpower them, bringing them to unending affliction. If they did not fear him now, they will soon and for eternity even if he were to take their lives away with his own bare hands.

He closed his eyes. The power of immortality will soon be his.

He finally answered his father's question. "All you have to know is that both Vegeta and Raditz used to obey me and now they don't. They're one of the last surviving Saiyans after I destroyed their wretched planet. And now, they had decided to rise up, planning to overthrow me."

His father said nothing this time.

Frieza, however, kept having this rush of thrill in him. "And because of their disobedience, they'll finally know what true fear is."

King Cold grinned evilly after he heard that. He then left his glass of wine on the table. He walked towards the doorway behind his son whilst saying, "I'm going to visit the Namekians. I want to ask the elders a few questions."

Frieza had no comment, but he did not prevent his father from doing so. King Cold exited the room without another word.

Out into the open space of Namek, Zarbon and Dodoria were at an area of many tall canyons along with sporadic trees. They were using their new scouters to locate Raditz, Vegeta, any Namekians, or the last remaining DragonBalls, but so far, they could not pick up anything.

"Is this really the latest model the Ginyu Force has brought?" Zarbon complained, adjusting the position of his device on his left eye. "I'm not getting any readings. Hmph, piece of trash."

Dodoria rolled his eyes. "Probably they were too busy trying to come up with new poses every day, they've forgotten about more important things!"

Zarbon decided to shrug it off and just focus on their mission. "Let's search another area."

They went to another path again. They flew at lower attitudes, hoping to receive better signals. After a while, the two had another conversation.

"It still surprises me that Lord Frieza has to summon the Ginyu Force," Dodoria started to complain. "Is he really that desperate that he has to call the most powerful elite force in the entire galaxy? But these are just puny Namekians. We can certainly finish the job! If only that village elder hadn't blown up our scouters in the first place, I would've destroyed Raditz and his bald friend already."

Dodoria was beginning to think their master was starting to doubt the capabilities of his own right-hand men whom they had served him for years and had never once questioned their allegiance and capabilities.

Zarbon may have the same opinion as his, but he tried not to think about that for now. "Lord Frieza may have other reasons for calling the Ginyu Force, or maybe…we've found a day when our limits are actually being tested. Whatever Lord Frieza's reason is, we need to start doing things right before he rips our heads off."

As for the Ginyu Force members, they had come across empty Namekian villages, but their inhabitants either had been taken away by Frieza and imprisoned in his ship or had been killed by his henchmen. They had also picked up a few power levels, but all of them were very miniscule, less than a hundred. They mostly came from underwater animals and birds.

Jeice was tapping on his scouter several times. "I hope my scouter's not broken from when we landed here. But why are all these numbers so weak? I can't even pick up Raditz's or Vegeta's power. And where're the 5,000 power levels we picked up earlier ago?! Oy, this is stupid."

Burter, Guldo, Recoome, and even Ginyu had similar problems like these. Of course, they were not aware of the fact that the Z-warriors knew how to bask their energies to the minimum or almost non-existent. Even Vegeta himself had acquired this skill.

Guldo was especially having problems. He was going around in circles, complaining that he cannot even wear a scouter due to the size of his head as well as his extra pair of bulging eyes. After deciding to take a break, he was lucky enough to find a village up ahead. Unlike his teammates who had found nothing so far, Guldo could see people there.

"Huh, must be Namekians or something," Guldo sneered. "Hah, hah! I'm gonna win the chocolate buffet bet now!"

The three Namekian warriors continued to keep Bardock on his toes, still engaged in a hectic fight with him. They were doing combined teamwork and using up all their energies to take the persistent Saiyan down, yet Bardock could keep well of their tracks and movements. He was quite impressed by their unyielding strengths, but he knew they couldn't afford to delay any more time. There was far greater trouble brewing elsewhere on this planet. Immediate action must be taken, but Bardock just could not seem to convince them that he was on their side.

The warriors charged at him, each giving him an attack all together. Without moving his eyes much to get an accurate view of his opponents, Bardock used his senses instead to feel out their presences. The Namekian fighters rapidly released their techniques at full power, but Bardock was able to oppose their attacks all at once with both of his arms.

"Hyah!" Bardock made his move as he kicked the first Namekian warrior to his abdomen. With haste and sharpness of skills, he went for an elbow strike to the second Namekian's chest. He then discharged an invisible force field from his body, carrying his opponents with the winds. At his last chain of combo, he turned a full circle twice to gain momentum as he attacked the jaw of the third Namekian warrior with his armored wrist.

The Namekian warriors were perspiring and breathing heavily. Bardock had given them quite the challenge; he was definitely no ordinary being. They wondered why he was not attacking them hard enough to the point of injuring them. He clearly had the upper-hand all along.

Now, they were beginning to realize he may be telling the truth after all, but with all the unfortunate, terrible incidents going on to their beloved planet, it was very difficult for them now to trust anyone.

Gohan felt useless that he was standing here, watching his grandfather having to be involved in this fight. Even though his grandfather was not struggling at all dealing with the Namekian warriors, he wanted to help still.

Gohan spoke and tried to convince the Namekians this time. "Listen to us, please! We're on your side. We need your help as much as you guys need our help. Please!"

The more the village elder watched Bardock fought, the more he was sensing truth in his words. Just to confirm this, he turned to Gohan and asked, "You there, what do you mean by what you said? Why do you need our help?"

Gohan turned to him and explained, "Friends of ours back from our planet had passed away and we want to wish them back to life as soon as possible. We came to your planet to see if you could help us make our wish happen."

The village elder quickly realized what he meant. "Wish? Are you intending to use _our_ DragonBalls?" he gave him that firm look again.

The half-Saiyan did not want him to take this the wrong way. "Yes, but rest assured, good Sir! We only want to bring them back to life. Please, our friends need our help, too."

He was soft-spoken, honest, but more importantly, good at heart. The village elder realized that he and his brethren might have made a mistake after all. He assumed that Bardock was like this young boy here as well.

The village elder stepped forward. The young adult Namekian, who was protecting the two Namekian children, asked what he was going to do. Just before the village elder had told his brothers to seize fighting, he became alarmed to catch a shadow passing by swiftly. That shadow actually attacked one of the Namekian warriors from behind, making him collide with the ground.

"What the?!" the other two fighters were stopped for a moment, wondering who just came to this village and had decided to assault their people again.

Bardock, Gohan, and the rest were also surprised.

In front of them was a green-skinned, stout creature with four eyes, wearing an armor that was similar to the uniforms of Frieza's henchmen. He was floating in air with an evil grin on his face.

He had a nasty laugh. "Hah, hah! I came to the right place then. Our master will be so pleased! Better prepare yourself 'cause you'll be facing…"

He did a few poses, intending to intimidate them. He introduced himself in a dramatic manner. "The master of time…Guldo!"


	12. Psychic Master

Episode 57

Psychic Master

Bardock, Gohan, as well as the rest of the Namekians kept their distances from this strange creature named Guldo. Whatever his business will be, they need to keep watch of him.

Bardock gave a look especially right after he noticed the armor that he was wearing. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that this Guldo must belong to the army of that galactic overlord, Frieza, but he was still unsure if the tyrant himself was here on Namek.

He had never seen Guldo's face before though. His name was not too familiar as well.

Guldo was mentally doing a head-count of the Namekians residing in this village. He was quite surprised to see other Namekians lying on the ground in their own pool of blood. He could not make out who had done this. It cannot possibly be the Namekians or that would mean there could be a civil war going on amongst them, but he learnt that Namekians were usually peace-loving creatures. He ruled out that possibility.

His attention was caught the most when he saw Gohan and Bardock. Could it be the two of them who had killed the Namekians here? But it cannot be them, he thought. They did not look evil for his taste.

"Hmm, I don't see Raditz or Vegeta anywhere, but those two…they look like Saiyans," Guldo mumbled to himself. "But I've never seen them before. I thought the entire Saiyan race was killed except for Vegeta and his two companions…"

He then scrutinized Bardock from head to toe. "Yet why's that person wearing a Saiyan armor? Is he also a comrade of Vegeta's? But I've never seen him before! This is quite interesting. I should report this to our master…"

He was talking too loud, Bardock heard of him, of course, and he displayed a serious expression. "…?"

The village elder had enough of Guldo having a conversation with himself. He decided to ask a few questions to this unwelcomed being. "You there, state who you are. Why are you here in this village? And who is this 'master' you're talking about?"

Guldo instantly spat at him. "Feh! Watch your mouth, old man. I already told you who I am. You're talking to one of the members of the illustrious, most powerful force ever: the Ginyu Force!"

"Ginyu Force?" the three Namekian warriors repeated what he said.

Gohan was very confused. "Ginyu Force? What's that? Hey, Grandpa, have you heard of that?"

Even the name of this force did not ring a bell to him at all. "No, not at all," he replied quietly.

The Namekian children were trying to catch their caretaker's attention, still feeling uncomfortable from this danger they were involved in. "Elder!"

Guldo heard what the children said and thought while pointing his finger at the village elder, "Huh, so you're the village elder of this place, eh? According to Lord Frieza's orders, I need to take you to him. Now, it'll be a lot easier if you comply with me before anyone here gets hurt."

The village elder, unfortunately, was not informed at all about this treacherous being. "What are you talking about? Who is this 'Frieza'?"

Everyone was all at bewilderment, but there was only one person in this village of ruins who knew exactly what he was talking about.

When that name of that horrible emperor was spoken, Bardock was brought to terrible shock; his body almost shuddered at this great realization. He realized that the visions he received for the past few weeks were unfolding right before his eyes. Those images of that traitorous emperor that kept appearing in his mind…they were no manifestations or over-exaggeration of his fear, yet also resentment for the galactic overlord. This was the reality.

After unearthing the greatest secret ever, Bardock now had given a duty to himself: to protect everyone in this planet including his family or friends or else, history will be repeated once more.

He cannot let what happened to him in the past come back and haunt him. If he cannot prevent the future from falling into darkness still, he will never forgive himself ever again.

Immediately, Bardock headed straight towards Guldo, his burst of speed making his aura react as it sparked and engulfed him with it. He confronted this strange enemy on his own while quickly warning the Namekians, "Listen to me right now. You guys need to leave and seek shelter somewhere else. I'll take care of this."

They grew alarmed after sensing high tensions in the atmosphere especially around Bardock. He seemed very serious about what he said.

Gohan went closer to his grandfather. "Grandpa, what's going on?"

Guldo although was irritated at Bardock for trying to control the situation whereas _he_ should be giving orders around here. "Hey, I don't know who the heck are you, but you're obviously in the way of our master's plans!"

Bardock found his hands curling into fists. Seeing that none of the Namekians were doing as they were told, he said one more time, "Come on, what are guys standing there for?! All of you are in greater trouble than this. Just leave now!"

On the other hand, Guldo immediately threatened the confused and innocent inhabitants of this village. "Hey! Be warned. If any one of you listens to him and tries to escape, I won't hesitate to kill every last one of you!"

The Namekians kept motionless and close to each other, unsure of what they were supposed to do.

The three Namekian warriors, however, finally took wing and floated in front of Bardock, facing Guldo instead. At this time, they were convinced that Bardock was on this planet for good intentions.

"What are you guys doing?" Bardock asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of this instead," said the first Namekian warrior.

"You're absolutely right," said the second. "Much darker forces are at hand and we must work together to eliminate them."

"Please forgive us earlier for mistaking you and the boy for enemies," the third one apologized.

Bardock was almost speechless.

Guldo scoffed at what they said. "Hmph, trying to defend each other now? Even with your combined powers, that's never gonna work for…," he then displayed a few more poses, trying to intimidate all of them, "the time-stopper, Guldo, of the Ginyu Force!"

This time, everybody just stared at him and wondered what that was all about.

Guldo hated all their stares. He was clearly being ignored and not being taken serious with. "Rrrgh, those looks on your faces…are you suggesting that I'm weak?! That kind of attitude will soon lead you to your downfalls!"

"Enough with this talk!" demanded the Namekian warriors, positioning to their fighting stances. "You're not welcome in this planet of ours. Leave now!"

Immediately, they commenced battle. The warriors shouted, their cries echoing in the skies, boosting their strengths to the maximum possible to take Guldo down.

Guldo bent his short arms to his waist while gritting his teeth together. Despite of his tough words, he was actually nervous. He knew at the back of his mind, he _is_ the weakest in the Ginyu Force after all, but those who had encountered him knew that he is a psychic master, which compensates for his feebleness. He had many tricks up in his sleeves that could easily put him to an advantage. The question is will he ever find that opportunity to show the cunning trickster he is?

The Namekian warriors charged all at once and attempted to attack this arrogant warrior from different angles to distract him. Guldo did his best to evade their blows; only just two minutes into the fight and his size and weight was tiring him out already.

One of the Namekian warriors gave a strong kick to his side. His other two comrades gathered enough energy to discharge golden-colored blasts from their palms. The blasts made their way towards Guldo and the closer they approached him, the more nervous he became.

Guldo shouted, expending a great amount of his own energy just to deflect these waves with his hands towards another canyon, which destroyed half of it.

Guldo can be seen already breathing hard. Once more, he gasped in surprise to see the Namekian warriors accelerating towards him, their fists drawn back, prepared to take him down as soon as possible.

Bardock was watching how Guldo was fighting and so far, his performance was making him question his abilities. "Is he…really that weak?"

Yet again, those who had known Guldo, he is known to be a master of tricks and time. Just before the Namekians had gained the upper-hand once more, Guldo had found his perfect opportunity to strike back.

He raised his hands and put his fingers together. He yelled at them while increasing his psychic powers immensely. "NOW!"

Beyond their control of his command, the Namekian warriors were prevented from going any further. They were suddenly stuck to where they were. Their bodies felt like were tied up in invisible chains, almost compressing them, making them freeze on the spot. They could not move even a small inch although no injuries were even done to them yet. This was all Guldo's doing and they had fallen right into his trap.

"Oh no!" cried Gohan, seeing how the Namekian warriors were in trouble.

The Namekians from the village were concerned about their fellow brothers and they cried out for them.

"Hah, hah!" Guldo laughed hysterically at his trapped victims. "You see what happens when you underestimate me? I've a lot of psychic powers in my lifetime and it doesn't matter if you're stronger or weaker than me, no one can escape from this."

His two pair of eyes began searching around for an object, a tree specifically, and he found one near a river. Using his mind, he took that tree from its roots and removed it from the soil. In just a finger snap, he carved it and turned it into a bark with a razor point at the end. He attempted to use this carved tree to stab the three Namekians all at once.

"Now, let's see how you'll like it once I skewer all of you," Guldo had another raucous laughter. "This is what I like to call the 'Guldo's Special'!"

Everyone was terrified to see this.

The three Namekian warriors struggled with all their might to escape from this spell they were bound in, but their resistance to his trap was futile. They were horrified, as they may have to face their ends sooner than they thought.

However, trying to watch this unnerving scene was already enough for Gohan. His hidden powers were reacting to his emotions once again, this rage that was emerging from inside, making him act on instincts. He cannot take this anymore; he cannot let any more of these Namekians die. This gave him enough reason to take courage and face up to their enemies.

Gohan immediately took action as he rushed towards Guldo. His white and blue aura can be seen surrounding him whilst his strength reaching many heights. "Get away from them!" he demanded angrily.

"What?" Guldo was distracted after hearing this determined and quite intimidating yell from the young warrior.

In seconds' time, Gohan caught the psychic creature by surprise as he landed a power-strike attack to his cheek. His hand left a quick spark as well as trails of his own blazing aura in the skies.

His sparking fist had hurt Guldo and he growled under his breath. "Augh! You brat!"

Gohan may have gotten him, but unfortunately, he did not realize that two men were able to pick up his increasing power in which he tried hard to suppress. And these men were Zarbon and Dodoria. Even they did not know, but they were quite near their opposing rivals.

"I'm picking up something here," Zarbon placed a hand on his scouter.

Dodoria tapped his scouter a few times to get a better reading of this power level. Once he had the exact number, he was quite surprised. "What the? This power is quite high. It's above 15,000."

Zarbon gave a serious look. "Keep in mind that our enemies have the ability to suppress their powers."

"Do you think it's from Vegeta's?" Dodoria asked.

"Probably…," Zarbon believed.

"I see," Dodoria was aggravated. "Deceivers…"

"Well, they won't trick us for long," Zarbon declared. He used his device to locate the exact location and once he found it, he turned to the southeast direction. "This way."

Both he and Dodoria headed towards that path with their main mission of wiping out all threats who will get in the way of their masters' plans.

Gohan then went for a strong blow to Guldo's stomach, pushing him back a few feet more. This young boy was quite unrelenting, Guldo thought, but he also believed he was making a huge mistake; the mistake of letting his guard down. All along, Guldo was saving another trick. He showed a wicked smile. Gohan saw this and it startled the half-Saiyan.

"You really think you're clever, aren't you, brat?!" with the power of his binding mind, he could still maneuver the sharp bark with his hands regardless of being attacked. Before he made his dramatic end for this battle, he thought not only he intended to stab the Namekian warriors with the skewer-like tree, but to Gohan as well.

Gohan was able to figure out his intentions and felt paralyzed by fear as he, too, had unknowingly fallen into his trap. "No!" he gasped.

"Now, vanish!" Guldo quickly moved his hands across his chest, controlling the razor-sharp bark to stab the Namekian warriors and Gohan.

The bark moved too fast and quite abruptly, it was impossible for anyone to try to prevent this. Everyone feared for the worse. They expected to witness the horrific ends of their friends until Bardock stepped in and changed the outcome. His swiftness surpassed that of anyone else in the battlefield. He teleported in front of the sharp tree and at the right timing, he grabbed it with his two hands, halting it at once from spearing his grandson and the Namekian warriors.

"What?!" Guldo was shocked on how he was able to break through his telepathic powers almost effortlessly.

"Rrrgh…RARGH!" with his dominating power, Bardock mightily ripped the bark in half, its pieces scattering everywhere. He then threw those pieces on the ground.

Guldo nearly panicked. What shocked him the most was that he was not even breathing hard regardless the amount of effort he had to exert to break through his mind-binding powers.

"Impossible!" Guldo cried with disbelief. "How could you possibly do that?!"

The Namekian warriors were finally freed from this spell. They settled back to the surface, almost petrified by the fact that they could've been killed at that moment. They were most thankful though that they were still alive. The village elder and the rest of the Namekians ran to their heroes and see if they were all right.

Gohan was quivering much, but he eased his mind, reassuring himself that he always had his grandfather by his side. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Thank you, Grandpa Bardock!"

Bardock simply glanced at him, making sure that he was all right.

Soon, Guldo's panic quickly vanished and instead turned into exasperation to know that someone would almost "mock" him for his superb psychic abilities. He cannot let his reputation falter in any way. Guldo thought it must have been a flaw to his technique, which gave Bardock just pure luck in being able to stop him easily. Still seeing him as no greater threat, he decided to take Bardock on and fight him himself.

"You _will_ pay for mocking me!" Guldo flew towards him, gathering energy into his right palm to fire a special kind of blast at him.

Bardock moved forward and gave a vigorous yell. "Hyah!" he was about to enter into a one-on-one battle with him until…his precognitive foresight made him see visions again.

"Huh?" Bardock immediately lost focus.

In this vision, he saw an image of the traitorous overlord himself, but it alarmed Bardock to see him in an entirely different and unusual appearance. He looked much taller in form, more built in structure while carrying a deeper voice in his throat. He pointed his finger at the screen, a malicious grin was plastered on his face. At the tip of his fingernail, he released a perilous, thin-laser blast.

Bardock snapped back to reality after that vision passed, but Guldo had already shot out this spherical-shaped blast, which came in contact with his skin. It did not hurt him much, but he felt stuck to where he was, almost paralyzed like his nerves had almost lost feeling. Guldo had just used his telekinesis on him.

However, Bardock was not the slightest bit worried. "Don't push your luck!" he told him. Despite of him falling into one of Guldo's spells, he was about to break free from it, but his mind revealed another vision and unexpectedly, he lost focus once more.

He saw his youngest son, Goku, and he was with him including Raditz. The three were standing next to each other, readying themselves to clash at these mysterious aliens wearing similar uniforms as Guldo was.

That vision passed from his mind again and Bardock regained his focus, but Guldo had already sent a startling punch to his face.

"Hah, hah! How do you like that, huh?!" Guldo was getting confident of himself. He attempted to use his psychic abilities one more time to trap his opponent fully, but the half-Saiyan, Gohan, will not allow that to happen again just as long he was here.

"Take this!" Gohan stepped in and delivered a flying sidekick to his hip, propelling him away and making him collide to the ground.

Guldo crashed to the soils of Namek, the rocks and pebbles shooting into the air. He felt a little dizzied, having to shake his head to rid a headache he received from that fall.

Bardock could finally move again and he quickly returned to his fighting position. "Thanks, Gohan," he smiled a little.

Gohan smiled back. "Anytime, Grandpa Bardock!"

Soon, the three Namekian warriors joined Bardock and Gohan, wanting to team up with them on this battle against the self-proclaimed psychic master. All five warriors charged towards Guldo at once from different directions, planning to make their attacks from different angles.

Guldo became confused and anxious to see this. He could not concentrate at all with his opponents moving all at once; however, he had one more trick up in his sleeves. In his head, he knew that he was outnumbered at this time. He was in trouble, he must admit, and for now, he needed to retreat and re-strategize himself before he could confront them again.

As they were only a few feet away from him, Guldo inhaled deeply, holding his breath for a moment and then, he shouted, "Time Freeze!" after saying these words, he held his breath again. At that moment, everything came to a complete stop.

This was his most prominent technique ever yet: his power of being able to stop time by simply holding his breath.

The Namekians, Gohan, and even Bardock became stationary and were fixed at their current positions like statues. Not even the most powerful warrior in the battlefield could ever escape from this. Everything fell silent. No sounds can be heard except for Guldo's feet shuffling across the ground. He was the only one who could move about still.

Guldo began talking in his mind since letting out his voice will end his time freeze technique. _"You may have won for now, but the next time we meet, you guys won't be so lucky. Now, I need to report this to Lord Frieza!"_

While he could still hold his breath for several more seconds, he took this chance to escape. He flew across the skies at top speed and left as quickly as possible. Once he believed he was far enough that they will not find him, he finally let out his breath. As let out a huge exhale, his breath smelt, too, and anyone would especially say that his breath stunk like trash.

Time resumed again and everything returned to normal. Guldo continued on with his escape, hoping he was far enough to be seen.

The three Namekian warriors as well as Gohan wondered what just happened, as if they suddenly fell to a state of blankness and then, they were awake again. What surprised them the most was that Guldo was not in the village anymore.

Bardock was on the offense, yet he ended up giving a sheering kick to the ground, making a deep crater on it, scattering rocks and gravel everywhere. Bardock slid with his two feet, but swiftly regained his stability. From there, he stood up straight.

His eyes quickly scanned the area. He wondered where in the world their opponent was. "What the? Where did he go?"

"Did he just disappear?" asked Gohan, landing on the surface. "He was just here a minute ago."

Everyone was left more confused than ever. They pondered about this mystery.

Meanwhile, back to where the Z-warriors had found their hideout to shelter themselves here, Bulma continued to stay put inside the cave. She anticipated that she and her friends will be staying in this planet for a while, she had decided to turn the deep end of this cave into a mini-Capsule Corp emergency cabin by using the box of capsules she was carrying earlier. This cabin had all the basics they needed including a living room, kitchen, and bathroom.

She was sitting on the couch and talking to her father using a special device that can make long-distance calls throughout the universe. She was telling him, "Well, we're looking for the DragonBalls now, but there's just one problem. Apparently, there are other aliens who've been here before us and they're also looking for the DragonBalls! If they get all seven, then what's the point of coming here in the first place? Gotta survive through all this hardship here on Planet Namek!"

Bulma did not hear an immediate response from her father at first. She asked him again, "Dad, did you hear what I said?"

Dr. Briefs finally replied to her, _"Yes, dear, of course! I didn't expect for you guys to encounter some trouble on Namek. I thought you told me it's usually a peaceful place."_

Bulma soothed her blue hair. "Well, I guess no place is safe for everyone. And the worst part is, Dad, a bunch of creepy alien guys destroyed our only ship! Good thing Bardock and Raditz took care of them! I was going to fix the ship, but Raditz told me to forget about it and instead, seek shelter somewhere else."

" _Why's that?"_ her father asked.

"Because he told me that after those aliens wrecked our ship, more reinforcements might be sent to get us, that's why," Bulma explained. "We're pretty much stuck in this planet!"

Dr. Briefs tried to calm his daughter down. _"Don't worry, dear. You and your friends just hang tight._ _Goku's on his way and he's flying his own spaceship we made for him here at Capsule Corp. When he gets here, he can give you a hitch ride home."_

Bulma became very excited to hear that Goku was apparently all better now from the hospital. And to hear that he was already coming to Namek relieved her from all the stress and worry she was going through. "No way! Goku's on his way here already? Yay! I knew my old friend would never let us down! Whoo!"

She cheered and with so much joy in her, she threw her device into the air.

 _"Though he has a problem,"_ Dr. Briefs suddenly added.

Bulma caught the phone with her hands and asked, "Huh? What problem?"

 _"Goku was rushing to get to you guys, so I didn't have time to install the café cappuccino machine! He's missing out on very good coffee. Hope his morning days would start out bright and new!"_

Bulma gave a look. "Dad, you know in space, it's night every day!"

She was about to continue conversing with her father until she heard footsteps coming from outside. She stood up quickly, trying to take a small peek of what could be outside of her cabin. She then told her father, "Hey, Dad, I think my friends are back. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

" _All right, dear. Just hang tight there 'till Goku arrives,"_ he said.

"I will," Bulma turned off her special calling device.

Outside of the Capsule Corp cabin, Krillin and the others had already entered inside the cave and they were surprised to see how Bulma was able to put a mini-house here.

"Is this hers?" asked Raditz.

"Yeah," Krillin said. "It looks small though. I hope all of us can fit in there."

The door then opened and there was Bulma. She was cautiously stepping out though, making sure that the ones knocking on her door were not enemies or anything else, but realizing it was really her friends, she opened the door for them. She did not give them a warm welcome though. "Well, you're back, but you guys took way too long! I thought I was gonna raided by more of those creepy aliens sooner or later!"

"But it didn't happen, right?" asked Krillin with a smile on his face. "We told you this place is very safe for you."

"Hmph," Bulma grunted. "Yeah, so far."

Raditz lightly shook his head, turning his neck the other way, hating to hear her complaints again.

Soon, Elder Moori, Dende, and Cargo had finally stood out to Bulma's eyes. As for the Namekians, they seemed a little unsure on how to go about in meeting her; at least, for the Namekian children.

"Huh? Hey, there're like other Piccolo's behind you," Bulma mentioned. She approached them to get a better look of these Namekians.

Elder Moori finally greeted her with a smile. Dende and Cargo, however, were quite nervous to see her. They hid behind their caretaker's legs.

"Hi there," Bulma greeted them. "So, you must be…Namekians?"

"I am Elder Moori," he nodded his head. "The little ones you see behind me are Dende and Cargo."

Dende and Cargo continued to hide, yet they took a little peek at Bulma, examining more of the face of an Earthling.

"Wow! They look like miniature Piccolo's!" Bulma exclaimed, finding them to be very cute. "So, what brings you guys here?"

Moori answered, "Well, to put it simply, your friends here have saved us from certain evil."

Bulma quickly knew what he was talking about. She fell a little silent. She could almost imagine what these Namekians had possibly gone through. "Oh, I understand…," she then leveled down with the Namekian children and tried to speak to them as softly as possible. "Where are your homes, little fellas?"

Dende and Cargo did not speak. They hid their faces again.

Moori held their shoulders. "They're shocked by what happened to our village. Even it's difficult for me to speak about it."

"I understand. You guys take your time to settle," Bulma did not want him to speak about their situation if they felt like they were not ready to.

Soon, Bulma had also noticed the DragonBall that Krillin was carrying in his hands. She was taken to surprise by the size of it. "Oh my gosh! Isn't that a DragonBall you have? How in the world did you get one? I thought those alien soldiers had it!"

Krillin looked at the wishing orb for a second. "True, but you can say our sharp wits were able to outsmart them. At least one DragonBall should give them a difficult time to collect all seven."

Bulma was very glad to hear this. She praised him and the rest. "You guys are amazing! At least we're getting somewhere with our search for the DragonBalls. Now, let's get you guys inside," she opened the door again to enter their mini-home. "There's plenty of room here. I'll give you some food to eat. Oh, and there's a lot to talk about while we're at it!"

They quickly headed inside the cabin, but just before they did so, Krillin asked a very important question. "Hold on, where's Bardock and Gohan? Are they back with you, Bulma?"

Bulma shook her head, feeling quite worried that this was not the case. "No, they haven't come back yet…I guess they're still looking for the other DragonBall. Man, I should've given them my Dragon Radar in the first place."

Krillin reassured her, "I'm sure they'll be back soon."

As for Raditz, he was terribly worried. He turned around, glancing at the other side of the cave where the entrance was. He said in his mind, _"Come on, you guys. You better get back here quick…Frieza is on this planet."_

The Z-warriors may have a DragonBall in their hands, yet their enemies were still at an advantage. With Frieza, his father, his right-hand men, and the Ginyu Force searching the planet to eliminate those standing in the way of their diabolical plans, can the Z-fighters still survive, protect the Namekians, and accomplish that one wish of wishing their friends back to life?


	13. Encounters

Episode 58

Encounters

 **Author's Note: Hi, it's been quite a while! Here's another chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading this. Before we move on, I would like to say thank you so much for your reviews, feedbacks, and for some of your ideas as well. I need to address a few things though.**

 **There are a lot of creative minds out there who have been sharing some of their suggestions to me that I could put into my story, and I thank you all for that, and even though I do take them into account (and use some of them in my story), unfortunately, I cannot take all of those ideas. One critique that I sometimes receive is about the accuracy of power levels in my story. Unfortunately, I find power levels to be too much of an inconvenience; therefore, I don't use them as much in the story (or I don't pay too much attention to). I certainly do not like to do math while writing my chapters (especially if you do it all the time if you're a college student like myself) and while trying to figure out which character could be stronger or weaker through the use of power levels. I apologize for any inaccuracies then for the power levels in my story, but in the DragonBall universe (at least, Saiyan Blood version), I like to keep things simple: some characters will be stronger than others, some will be weaker, and those who are not strong enough, they find ways to get stronger then to overcome their opponents. The only reason why I'm using power levels for now is because the original DBZ storyline also uses them during the Saiyan and Namek sagas.**

 **Having Bardock and Raditz in the story is already a challenge for me. I have to constantly think about how these two can change things around, how certain events would change, and how those could affect the entire story in the long-run. I always try my best to make Saiyan Blood as unique as possible from the original DBZ storyline. That's why, there are certain concepts that I try to keep simple (to avoid too much stress and thinking for my tired brain) such as the strengths of characters. For example, Bardock and Raditz are definitely stronger than Frieza's right-hand men (Zarbon and Dodoria), they are likely in par with the Ginyu Force (or they can be slightly stronger), but they are weaker than Frieza (but not too weak once we get to Frieza saga). I don't have to use math and power levels to support this. For me, I try to use common sense and simple estimations.**

 **Another point I would like to address is Bardock's and Raditz's strengths during the Saiyan saga. Some of you have made a good point that Bardock should have been much stronger and could've easily crushed Vegeta. But recall that Bardock was "asleep" or "dormant" for twenty years at the beginning of the story. He was in a coma state even though he gained a massive amount of power from surviving his home planet's destruction. So, Bardock basically lost all that power and his power level is pretty much back to 10,000 (or maybe slightly lower, like 9,800).**

 **As for Raditz, in my opinion, he is a very weak low-class Saiyan (the lowest of the low-class) and so, getting stronger for him is very difficult even though he survived the self-destruction of the Saibaman and even though he trained with the Z-warriors for a year. That's why he still struggled to overcome Nappa, but like his nephew, Gohan, his strength skyrockets whenever he gets angry, but for very short periods of time. He definitely improves his fighting power around Namek saga though (as you will see soon).**

 **There is also a little confusion about how long it actually takes to get to Guru's house in Namek. I did a bit of research to find the answer for this and unfortunately, there is no specific time length. I asked other people, but their answers varied. Some believe it only took Krillin and Gohan to get to Guru's house in a few hours while some say it's about a few days. In my story, I've decided that it will take Krillin and the others to get to Guru's place close to 3 days.**

 **We all know Akira Toriyama's DragonBall is the original and as writers, we try our best not to ruin anything when we make our own twists and changes to the series, but I do like to get very creative with Saiyan Blood and let my imagination run wild. After all, this story is really just for fun (and writing it is also a stress reliever for me) without me having to worry about the tiny details. Saiyan Blood is how I see DragonBall with Bardock and Raditz included in the mix.**

 **Wow, this is the longest author's note I've ever written, but I just wanted to discuss briefly with you all about this. I hope this clears up any confusion from Season 1 and Season 2. Also, for those who have been writing guest reviews and would like to get notified when the next chapter is up, it's best to make a fanfiction account and follow this story. It's the only way to receive a notice in your inbox the next time I update.**

 **Thanks for reading this lengthy author's note. Happy reading!**

Bardock, Gohan, and the Namekians in the village came together as Bardock discussed with them about what they must do from here on out.

"I really wonder where he went," Gohan referred to Guldo and of his mysterious disappearance.

"Doesn't really matter now. He's probably too far to be located…," Bardock had a serious look, knowing they had to focus on far more important issues. He was quite worried because he knew information about him will be leaked now, especially to that tyrant, Frieza, yet, perhaps it was time that he knew of his presence, to let him know that he was still alive and he was here to exact his revenge and avenge his people. Bardock cannot let him get away with his evil deeds this time.

The elder then approached him along with the two Namekian children and the young adult one. The three warriors stood behind the village elder.

The elder nodded. "We thank you for saving us…we apologize again for mistaking you and the boy for foes."

Bardock shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. What's important now is that you guys seek shelter somewhere else."

The Namekians agreed that this was a wise decision to make. All that happened here only meant more dark forces will target them. They must hide until these enemies had been taken care of.

The elder had one last question for Bardock. "Before we go, I need to ask…are you really here to help us? If so, then please…help us restore our planet back to the way it was."

Bardock looked at him.

"We worked so hard trying to make our home to the once lively, peaceful planet it was, but now, these evil men have come and have decided to destroy our lands and our people…please," the elder now begged. "Help us restore peace to this world."

After hearing his words, Bardock vowed that he will do everything he can to help them. Gohan assured the inhabitants that everything will be all right and that he and his friends will definitely save their planet.

The Namekian warriors then led their people to safety. "Come, let's move quickly.

Gohan interrupted them for a second. "Wait! Where will you guys go?"

The elder looked at him. "Don't worry. We have a place where it can keep us safe from this peril. The Great Elder has made a secret hideout for us in case anything like this should happen. After all, it is hard to trust anybody now outside of home."

Bardock and Gohan watched them leave the village.

"Good luck to you both," the elder said to the two.

Soon enough, they disappeared with uncertainty for the future and with broken hearts for their fallen brethren. All they could do now was to hope for a miracle to happen, to release their beloved home from harm's way once and for all.

Bardock and Gohan were all alone now in the village.

Bardock then quickly took flight into the skies. Gohan followed along and asked him, "What should we do now, Grandpa Bardock?"

The half-Saiyan then quickly noticed a look on his face, which told him his grandfather had realized something important and a little unnerving as well. Bardock's eyes moved about while whispering to himself, "…if he's part of Frieza's army, then…Krillin, Raditz…"

Gohan was concerned. "Grandpa, what's wrong?"

Bardock quickly told him, "Gohan, we have to get back to Bulma. We need to make sure that everyone's doing all right."

Gohan understood. "Right, let's go then!"

Immediately, they flew at top speed across the skies, their auras bursting in the air, leaving as soon as possible. Bardock felt his heart racing again. He just hoped that Frieza and none of his men were still far away from their family and friends.

While the inhabitants of Planet Namek continued to face many atrocities and troubles, out in the endless space, Goku kept training at 20xG in his ship. After practicing under heavy gravity, he decided to take a break. He went to the kitchen and grabbed some snacks he could munch on, but once he opened the fridge, he scratched his head in wonder.

"Huh, nothing much here…," he asked, a little disappointed. Inside the refrigerator, there were many frozen foods placed there, microwavable, uncooked fish and meat, diary, fruits, vegetables, breakfast needs, and desserts. It also had plenty of juice and water bottles.

It may seem like a lot of food, but for Goku, considering he has a voracious appetite, he was afraid this might not fill him for the next six days of his trip. He may just have to adjust to this though. "Okay then, I think I should have this as an appetizer."

His definition of an appetizer though was this, "Let's see, I'll grab five slices of ham, some chicken wings, maybe veggies, eggs, these fish rolls here, and oh! Can't go without dessert!"

After eating his heavy-loaded appetizer, he then grabbed a handful of bananas and ate one at a time. He was about to go back to the gravity room, but he was so busy eating, he did not realize that the gravity controls were still on.

When he stepped back into the room, he lost balance and fell hard to the floor. "AAH! Eh, heh," his hair was ruffled and quite messed up. "Guess I forgot to turn off the gravity while I was in the kitchen."

Just about he stood up on his feet, he suddenly heard a voice, which echoed throughout the gravity room. _"Hey, Goku, can you hear me there?"_

Goku blinked his eyes for a moment and soon, recognized the sound of that voice. He greeted excitedly, "Oh, hey, King Kai, it's you! How's it going? Haven't heard from you in a while."

 _"No, Goku, it's actually the chair talking to you,"_ King Kai joked around, like always, but then revealed it was really him. _"Heh. Just kidding! I_ am _King Kai. So, how's your training? Are you in pretty good shape?"_

Goku smiled. "Yeah, thanks to that Senzu Bean. As you might know, I'm now traveling in space to get to Namek. I almost can't believe how many weeks have passed. Time sure flies."

 _"Yes, and time also flies here…well, at least, for your friends who were able to cover Snake Way much faster than you did,"_ King Kai suddenly mentioned these "friends" of his.

Goku wondered what he meant. He placed the bananas on the floor first before getting up again. He fixed his blue belt around his waist. "Wait, 'friends'?"

King Kai placed his arms behind his back. " _Yeah, your friends! Don't tell me you've forgotten already."_

All of a sudden, a different voice spoke throughout the room and he said with a laugh, _"Hah, hah!_ _C'mon, Goku,_ _we've known each other since you were a kid. Don't tell me you're gonna forget us like that!"_

Goku almost could not believe whom he was hearing. He became excited. "What? No way! Is that you, Yamcha?!"

Lo and behold, at King Kai's planet, there were four people standing behind King Kai and they were Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Tien, and Piccolo.

"Yep, you got it!" King Kai told him.

"I can't believe it! It's been a long time since I've heard your voice!" exclaimed Goku. "Then, it must mean Tien, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo are there, too, right?"

King Kai simply laughed this time while the Z-warriors behind the North Kai kept smiling, knowing how innocent Goku can really be.

Yamcha had his hand rested on King Kai's shoulders so that he may be able to talk to Goku telepathically. 'Sup, old friend? You must be packing lots of punches there."

"How in the world did you get to King Kai's?" Goku asked who kept his eyes at the ceiling. "Your journey should've taken you ages! Actually, how did you even know about his place?"

"Well, Kami told us about it and considering King Kai's training can make one pretty strong, we all agreed to come here and get some lessons from him," Yamcha explained. "And how did we get here fast? …eh…I don't know…probably we're much faster than you, Goku. Heh, heh!"

"Amazing!" Goku remarked.

"Hey, King Kai told us that you guys are gonna wish us back to life with the DragonBalls on Namek. You guys are the best!" Yamcha was proud to have an awesome friend like him.

"Thanks, Yamcha," Goku nodded. "So everyone made it? All at the same time?"

"Yeah, everyone did a good job. Chiaotzu was so full of energy, we almost have trouble keeping up with him on Snake Way!" laughed Yamcha. "But all of us were able to pull through."

"Wow!" Goku exclaimed.

"Snake Way isn't so bad. It's the gravity that needs to get used to," Yamcha mentioned.

Goku reassured him that he was not the only one who was experiencing intense gravity pull. "Don't worry. You guys can adjust pretty easily. I've been training under heavy gravity myself. I'm on my way to meet Bulma, Krillin, Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock…"

Suddenly though, he became worried. "But unless I get stronger in the next five days, we'll be in for some serious trouble."

Yamcha became concerned and asked if there was anything going on in Namek.

Goku explained, "When I was still in the hospital, Bulma and the others went ahead to get the DragonBalls without me, but when they got there, they told me that Namek's being invaded by enemies from outer space. The worst part is…," he fell silent for a moment and then, revealed to them the terrible truth, "Vegeta happens to be in Namek, too."

King Kai heard what he said and he almost screamed while Yamcha stood in dread and worry.

"No way! Vegeta is there?" Yamcha asked.

Tien, Chiaotzu, Piccolo heard what he said and they were also surprised

"He hasn't done anything to Bulma and the rest, right?" Yamcha asked, hoping to hear an answer from him.

Goku shook his head. "Fortunately, no, but I'm worried that they'll have to face Vegeta at some point," however, he had other terrible news that they should all be aware about. "And that's not all, there's another evil force roaming around Namek. Bulma said that they saw these aliens who were wearing similar armors to my brother's and father's, but they're not Saiyans at all."

Even trying to speak to them about the situation made Goku feel more anxious and impatient. He had to get to Namek as soon as possible.

"They're not Saiyans? So, who are they?" asked Yamcha. "Are they as strong as Vegeta is?"

Goku paused again before answering him. "…there's a chance that they could be…more powerful than him. They told me that some of these power levels they sensed were enormous."

King Kai and Yamcha were shaking a little now.

Sensing the tension in the atmosphere, Tien needed to ask if everything was all right.

Yamcha gulped hard. "There's enemies on Namek who could be stronger than Vegeta himself."

"What?!" the rest of the Z-warriors were shocked.

However, King Kai was sensing a far more horrifying peril than anyone else thought. He decided to ask his student a question. "These enormous power levels your friends mentioned, did they tell you specifically where they came from? Don't tell me…one of them could be Frieza?"

 _"I have no idea,"_ Goku said, unsure.

King Kai trembled even more. He walked towards the edge of his planet and tried to feel out the enormous energies with his antennas. "Give me a sec…"

Yamcha could feel his forehead sweating, his heart beating nervously. Tien had to ask again. "Hey, Yamcha. What's going on? Why's Vegeta on Namek?"

King Kai took a while to search for those enormous energies that Goku had mentioned. After he was able to sense Planet Namek thousands and thousands more miles away, he then individually picked up the highest power levels residing there. To his shock, he sensed not just one, but two very powerful energies on Namek and they were filled with pure malice and wickedness.

King Kai shook his head, his hands and entire body quivering now with fear. "N-no way! It can't be!"

The Z-warriors stared at the North Kai, wanting to know what he had discovered. Goku sensed his master's distress and asked if anything was wrong.

King Kai had to warn his student now before he could put himself into great danger. "G-Goku, you have to listen to me. This Frieza…he's the most powerful fighter in the universe that you'll ever face in your life. And not only that, Frieza happens to be with his father, too! There's no way you can't beat the two of them."

Goku was a bit confused. "The most powerful? But…what are you trying to tell me, King Kai?"

"I'm saying that you should never go near Frieza and his father!" his teacher now warned him. "I'm telling you this for everyone's sake. Those who encounter Frieza or any of his family will never make it out alive."

"But-," Goku was about to say something, but his teacher interrupted him.

"I want you to promise me that you won't dare face him or else, you're only asking for own doom. The best thing to do is to stay away from him altogether!"

Goku had to argue with him, however. "Hold on a second, King Kai! I can't just run away. You do realize that Bulma, my dad, my brother, and my son are in that planet. They…they need my help!"

"I understand what you mean, but you just need to contact them somehow to leave Namek as soon as possible," King Kai advised him.

"But how about the DragonBalls?" Goku continued to argue. "We're supposed to use them to wish our friends back to life, right?"

Bubble was seen picking up some flowers from his owner's garden, but he noticed the tension going on amongst the fighters.

"Come on, King Kai!" Goku almost had to beg him.

But his teacher warned one more time, "Absolutely not! I'm telling you not to go near Frieza!"

The stressed King Kai stopped talking, however, when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. It appeared to be Piccolo.

Piccolo had a grin on his face. He did not approve of King Kai's advice for Goku. They had come this far in their journey and if they were to abandon all the efforts they went through, then there might be no more chance for them to go back; therefore, he asked his former arch-rival, now his companion and good friend to, "Just focus on your mission, Goku. Get all those DragonBalls and wish us back to life."

"Piccolo! I never thought you'll say something!" Goku exclaimed. He was glad that he was on his side of the conversation. It also further confirmed his validation that Piccolo had definitely transformed into a good person.

 _"In the meantime, we'll do some special training with King Kai to get ready,"_ Piccolo planned.

Goku nodded. "Yeah!"

"If we ever have to face this so-called tyrant, Frieza, then we'll get ourselves prepared for that battle," Piccolo told him. "Besides, we've got Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock on our side. With strong companions with us, we'll be ready."

King Kai hated to know that he was being ignored. "Didn't I just tell you not to go head-to-head with Frieza and his terrifying race? Fine! I won't help you and your friends get any stronger unless you promise that you'll never face him."

Piccolo was silent for a moment. He could not convince him; therefore, he had to come up with a white lie just to calm him down. "Fine, as you wish."

King Kai heaved a deep sigh. "…I hope you really mean it. And that goes for the rest of you, too."

" _I can't believe he'll fall for that easily,"_ Piccolo growled to himself.

Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Tien stood in silence, but they were in the same frame of minds as Piccolo was. They were determined to train and release their latent potential. They wanted to help their friends face off this Frieza as well.

 _"I gotta train hard like Goku. If we have to face Frieza, we need to give it all we got,"_ Tien smiled with confidence.

Yamcha smiled also.

"I guess we should begin training then," said King Kai.

 _"I've been waiting for this training forever,"_ Tien said to himself.

Yamcha gave a wider grin. _"Show me all you got."_

King Kai told them their first task. "If you guys are ready, then hear this. Before I train you four, you have to pass my challenge first. Tell me a joke and if you make me laugh, you'll win! Heh, heh!"

"HUH?!" and so Chiaotzu, Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo must face their worst challenge ever.

Goku had finished talking with his friends in the afterlife. Now, he was alone again in space. After learning from King Kai that Frieza is the strongest being in the universe, he felt more resolved to further extend his limits and test his boundaries in training. He must get stronger; there was no excuse of not being able to do so. With that in mind, he set the gravity in the room up to 30xG and resumed training.

On Namek, Bardock and Gohan were heading back to Bulma's place to make sure that everyone was still all right. While they continued to travel at high speeds, suddenly, Bardock's instincts clicked on him and from afar, he sensed someone approaching them. He stopped at a complete halt and Gohan did the same.

"Did you see something, Grandpa Bardock?" asked Gohan.

Bardock could feel two beings approaching them fast, their auras emitting a sense of malevolence. He knew this was trouble. He quickly told his grandson, "Gohan, go ahead and get to Bulma. I have some business to take care of here. There're more enemies coming this way."

"What? If you say they're enemies, then let me help you!" Gohan wanted to stay with him.

"No," Bardock refused. "It's best for you to go and make sure that everyone's all right. Don't worry. I'll be back," he said, keeping his eyes fixed towards the direction where he was sensing the life forces of these incoming enemies.

Gohan could tell that he was being serious. If he continued to insist to stay with him, his grandfather would start raising his voice, for sure. Gohan's aura then surrounded him and he flew away. "Okay, be careful, Grandpa!"

Bardock watched his grandson leave. The moment he disappeared in the skies, Bardock then sensed an incoming attack. From the corner of his eyes, he saw this flashing light, which meant to hit him. He quickly evaded it by moving his body to the side and then, he destroyed it with a blast of his own.

Haze and fog briefly took over. Bardock kept his hand placed in front of him, remaining in that position for a while. It was at that point that these two enemies had arrived and confronted him.

"Well, well, look what we have here. Must be a lost tourist!" said one voice.

"I'd say we'll take him out as soon as we can," said the other voice.

Since the fog was in the way though, the enemies could not entirely see who this mysterious being was whom they deemed as merely a lost tourist.

Bardock clearly heard these voices…and instantly, he felt this rage emerging from his chest, about to explode from inside. It was _they_ who had killed his comrades, his best friends.

Once the grey smoke had faded, the soft laughter that came from the two enemies immediately faded. They actually recognized the person whom they were talking to and they grew in immense shock. At first, they believed they were seeing a ghost, an apparition, but they came to realize that this warrior was very much alive. He was the one who had confronted Frieza's army of thousands of soldiers, who stood up to the tyrant himself, and who fought all alone in that war.

The two enemies were now revealed to be Zarbon and Dodoria and they realized that this "lost tourist" was actually the long-forgotten Saiyan named Bardock.

"It can't be," Zarbon stuttered.

Dodoria felt extremely worried. "Impossible…! After all these years…he's still alive?!"

Bardock finally turned around and glared at the henchmen with that fiery look in his eyes, which meant he had returned with only one thought in mind.

…revenge.

Everything was still for a moment. The winds howled and then, they stopped, and it seemed like the whole world fell silent.

Zarbon and Dodoria could not do anything at the moment. Bardock kept silent, and if his anger were to be triggered, he will explode and become the deadly and powerful Saiyan warrior he was reputed for.

Zarbon had to speak to Bardock. His hands began to curl into fists, his eyes now showing frustration in them. "How-how could you possibly escape…from Lord Frieza's indestructible attack? We saw you with our own eyes. You died on that day!"

Dodoria shook his head slowly. "There's no way you could've survived your planet's destruction. How? I don't understand-!"

Already, Bardock was getting sick and tired from just hearing their voices. They were confused and obviously, at disbelief with the fact that he was still alive even though he was clearly standing in front of them.

"Shut your mouths," Bardock suddenly demanded from them. Already, the sound in his voice meant he was prepared to conjure his terrible wrath on them.

The henchmen were silenced immediately.

"You will never get away for what you did to my comrades…to my people…to my home planet…," Bardock declared.

Zarbon and Dodoria had to admit, they never felt this frightened before in their lives. This was definitely a different kind of Bardock standing before them, but then, they realized that he is still a low-class Saiyan warrior after all, even if he were to survive the destruction of Planet Vegeta.

Dodoria was convinced that Bardock was still nowhere near their strengths. He spat at him. "Don't get too cocky, Bardock. You may have come back from the dead, but you're still a weakling compared to us!"

Bardock maintained his serious expression.

Zarbon told him, "We're well-aware that you have the ability to hide some of that power of yours, but even still, you can't beat elites like us, who had always served as Lord Frieza's right-hand men."

Dodoria advanced towards Bardock. "You may be asking yourself now why we're saying such things. Well, let me tell you this. Zarbon and I have been doing training ourselves. Don't think we slacked off after we wiped out the whole monkey parade! During these two long decades, our powers have also increased and with our abilities combined, they should still far surpass yours."

Bardock did not react, but was enraged to hear him call the Saiyans a "monkey parade."

"So, Bardock, this is a pretty familiar scene, don't you think?" Dodoria suddenly smirked. After a second, he quickly opened his mouth and without warning, he fired a perilous, golden beam from the inside of his throat, which brightened the skies and headed straight towards his opponent. Its size was huge, it could engulf Bardock in an instant, and the distance between his attack and his opponent was very short, Bardock only had little time to react. Dodoria used this same technique on him as he did many years ago when he was ordered to kill Bardock along with the rest of his comrades back on Planet Meat.

Bardock did not flinch nor did he feel any fear. Almost unbelievably, he used his left arm to deflect Dodoria's blast away towards the background behind him and it hit the bottom of the rivers instead. There was an explosion underwater and the waters rose and shone under the sun.

"What?!" cried Dodoria with shock.

Zarbon's eyes widened.

Bardock had made zero effort to deflect Dodoria's once destructive, petrifying beam, but now a mere joke to him. Dodoria and Zarbon became frightened especially after seeing Bardock's grave, almost threatening stare.

"No!" Dodoria shook his head. "That blast should've blown you to bits. How-how could you stop it that easily?!"

Bardock kept his arm raised for a moment before moving it back to the side.

Zarbon soon realized that he might be hiding a lot more power than what their scouters were telling them. Even their newest models were still not effective enough to detect their hidden strengths.

"How dare you make a mockery of us!" Zarbon growled.

Bardock lowered his head, shadows casting over his eyes. "Do you really think I'm just mocking you? It just goes to show your knowledge about the Saiyans is dangerously lacking."

Immediately, Bardock revealed to them this time the immense power he had been hiding and had gained throughout these years. His aura quickly burst and surrounded him. His enemies could not anticipate his rapid speed. Bardock threw a crushing punch straight at Dodoria's face, breaking his scouter in the process. Zarbon became scared. Nevertheless, he tried to attack him with his fists, but Bardock was able to grab his hand. Once again, he shocked him as he threw an uppercut to his chin, following with a violent sidekick to his armor. Both Dodoria and Zarbon were hurt by this warrior and were already bleeding while Bardock had not broken a sweat at all.

The right-hand men of Frieza were seeing Bardock as a main threat to their master's plans once again. They were angered with this Saiyan who always rises whenever he falls.

Zarbon and Dodoria let their emotions, anger and fear, get the best out of them. They mindlessly attacked Bardock, rushing towards the lone survivor of the Saiyan race, determined to take him down one way or another while Bardock watched as they approached him, now with a grin appearing on his face.

Meanwhile, on another side of Namek, Vegeta was flying through the skies, heading to the Eldest Namekian as soon as he can. He cannot let any of Frieza's men get their hands on this DragonBall. If they did, his chance for immortality will forever be gone.

The Saiyan Prince, with his eyes, saw three figures going straight at him. He was alerted at first, but soon, he realized they were just a few of Frieza's feeble minions. In fact, they belonged to the group of ten henchmen whom Raditz had knocked out earlier after he and Krillin saved Moori, Cargo, and Dende. They were trying to look for Raditz again, but when they encountered Vegeta, they were in for more serious trouble.

Once they met, they began talking.

"Vegeta!" cried one of the henchmen. "What are you doing here?"

"Lord Frieza already told us, remember?" reminded his comrade. "He's obviously here to rebel against our master!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked the third one. "Let's take him down!"

Vegeta could not get more irritated than this. If only he could get his hands on one DragonBall, but he must deal with annoying nuisances like them who could only waste his time. "Get out of my way, you scum! I have no time to deal with half-wits like you unless you want to get hurt!"

The minions were just as irritated as he was.

"You're just like Raditz, Vegeta!" mentioned the first minion. "It would've been a lot easier if you two had kept to your pose and never went to rebel against Lord Frieza in the first place."

Vegeta suddenly raised his eyebrows. When the minion mentioned about his former comrade's name, he questioned him back. "…Raditz? You've seen him? Are you suggesting…that he's here on this planet?"

The minions seemed confused themselves. The second henchman then told him, "Stop making it sound like you don't know! You're obviously working with Raditz to overthrow Lord Frieza!"

The Saiyan Prince lowered his head and fell silent. He was not expecting this at all. He assumed that Raditz, his father, and probably his brother, too, were here on Namek, but for what purpose?

In some ways, he felt angry, knowing he must confront so many obstacles standing in the way of his desire for immortality, but in some ways, he was actually looking forward in settling the scores with Raditz, Bardock, and especially Goku. They were the ones who had made a mockery out of his name, but he swore that if he meets them again, he will make them kneel on their knees next time.

"It'll be for your own good, Vegeta, if you just give up now. You can't stand a chance against Lord Frieza," the henchmen warned him one more time.

"My own good?" Vegeta still kept his head down. "Tell that idiotic tyrant that it'll be good for _him_ if he surrenders now to the strongest Saiyan alive!" he declared.

The henchmen now had no choice but to attack Vegeta at will. They used their blasters wrapped around their arms and shot lasers at the Saiyan Prince. Vegeta though let the blasts make contact with his armor, showing to them that their attacks meant nothing. Through the haze and smoke, he took down the henchmen one by one with his own fists and with all the power he could give. He had them crash into the waters again and he mercilessly ended their lives.

Vegeta started to picture the faces of Raditz, Bardock, and Goku. Again, he may be looking forward to see them, but most of all, he was angry with these Saiyans whom he saw as only low-leveled soldiers and yet, they were able to overpower him still.

He was reminded again of the day when he lost the battle back on Earth and suffered a shameful defeat.

Unfortunately, the prince had revealed too much of his power again due to his pride and emotions, he did notice that another warrior had picked up his power level from afar.

As the waters glistened under the sun, his eyes staring intently at the oceans below him, he was alerted to hear a voice from behind.

"Peek-a-boo, I see you!" said that voice, his words followed with laughter. "You should've been more careful, Vegeta. Anyone with a scouter could have pinpointed your location. It just so happens to be you're Lord Frieza's most wanted on his list, so I can't let you go unnoticed now."

The Saiyan Prince cannot believe he had let his guard down too soon. Now, he may need to face…one of the strongest members of the Ginyu Force.

He clenched his fists. He turned around and his eyes grew wide to see Recoome floating in front of him.

Recoome smirked wide. "Oh, and don't forget about my friend here. Guess he'll be joining me to witness your doom, Vegeta."

All of a sudden, the Saiyan Prince felt a brief, yet strong gust of wind coming from behind and his hair moved with this jet of air. Then, after he blinked, he was more surprised to see someone standing beside Recoome now and that was Burter.

"Good afternoon, Prince Vegeta," Burter said sarcastically. "It's a fine weather today to finally put you to place."

Vegeta felt worried. He had to encounter members of the most powerful and illustrious force in the entire galaxy a bit too soon. Nevertheless, the Saiyan Prince was not hesitant to go head-to-head with the Ginyu Force. In a way, he must prove to Frieza and to all his men he had changed since last time, that his power had immensely grown and that everyone should fear it.

Recoome turned his head towards Burter. "So, I think I should land the first blow on him. Beat him to a pulp and make him bleed to death, hah, hah!"

"Hold on a sec, Recoome," Burter told him. "Remember what Lord Frieza said? We have to spare him and take him to his majesty himself."

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Recoome remembered. "Lord Frieza actually got some questioning to do with you, Vegeta. Now, it'll make the job a lot easier for us if you surrender and come with us."

Vegeta bent his arms to his waist. He growled at them with silent rage. "Keep dreaming, you fools. I won't go down without a fight. I've changed since the last time you saw me. I'm a lot more powerful than you think!" he tried to intimidate them.

"Hah, hah! Stubborn as usual," Burter laughed at him. He used his scouter to calculate his power level. After he read the numbers, he was not worried at all. "Hmm…there's some truth to what you said, Vegeta, but if you think a mere power boost will be enough to stop Recoome and I, you're clearly mistaken!"

Vegeta felt more nervous than ever, but he tried to veil his fear with his pride. He decided not to run away, but to face them instead. He readied himself to take on the members of the Ginyu Force no matter what the costs were. His pride and desire for immortality were enough reason for him to do battle and prove his might.

Recoome laughed. "Hah, hah! Okay then, Vegeta. I'll be glad to use you as a training dummy. Now!" he then did a pose of his own, trying to intimidate him. "Whoo! I am…Recoome of the Ginyu Force! Prepare to meet your doom!"

"Hey!" Burter yelled at him. "We need to use rock-paper-scissors first to see which one of us gets to fight him. You can't have all the fun."

"Too late! Heh, heh!" Recoome laughed again.

Burter felt irritated.

Vegeta was most angered, he could not take this any longer. He decided to let his power explode and use all his full strength and prove to his enemies the might of the Saiyan Prince. "RAARGH!"


	14. Hidden Truths

Episode 59

Hidden Truths

 **Author's Note: I decided to experiment a little with this chapter by adding a bit of my own history to Namek to show more details about King Cold's desire of taking over the planet, so I hope it won't be too bad. By the way, for those who celebrate Christmas, (Belated) Merry Christmas to you all!**

"HYAAH!" Vegeta's aura surrounded him, bursting and flaring from his body as he rushed towards Recoome. He actually caught him off-guarded when he threw a ravaging punch to his abdomen. Recoome was pushed back and he was blown away.

Vegeta pursued him, leaving jets of wind behind. He then fought him in hand-to-hand combat. Recoome tried to keep up with him, but Vegeta found an opportunity to counterattack, he grabbed that chance by going for a strong knee-strike to his abdomen again, followed by a hard strike to the head with his gloved hands clasped together.

Recoome was pushed back once more and was about to fall to the ground. The Saiyan Prince believed he was already getting weaker, he must keep at full strength in order to take him out as soon as possible. As Vegeta followed him, ready to land his next attack, he was surprised to see a smirk appearing from Recoome's face. It appeared to be he was not at all fazed by his attacks so far.

Vegeta was fuming mad. It seemed like this opponent of his was making a mockery out of him. "You better wipe that smirk off of your face!" he accelerated, landing a strong sidekick to his stomach, trying to inflict damage to him at his abdomen several times to weaken him somehow.

Recoome grunted in slight pain; however, he suddenly dashed and was able to get behind Vegeta. He then threw a brute punch to his back and the Saiyan Prince was carried off with the winds.

"Hah! Now check this out," Recoome announced. He tried to land a powerful blow to his face, but Vegeta was able to evade it, catching his opponent by surprise. Vegeta retaliated by hitting him with an enraged hook kick to his neck, intending to break it. Though it stopped him for a moment, it did nothing to break his bones.

Vegeta knew he must follow through with his chain of attack whilst keeping his focus and stability whole. He bent his arms to his waist and powered up, hoping that this slight power boost will give him the advantage.

"Huh?" Recoome asked.

"Eat this!" Vegeta retaliated. He spread his arms wide, his hands electrifying in violent, sparking energy, the aura emitting from his body flared and surrounded him wildly. He brought his hands together and from the center of his palms, he released combined spheres of vigorous energy of white and sapphire colors. This electrifying beam then headed straight towards Recoome. Recoome had to cross his arms together and raised his defense.

Once Vegeta's "Final Crash" made contact with his enemy, it woke an immense explosion, its rays illuminating the battlefield.

Burter simply stood there with his arms crossed. He was not that worried though about his comrade.

Vegeta found himself panting a little. Using full power at the start of this battle may not be wise, but he had to do it in order to eliminate Recoome as soon as possible. He must take out the members of the Ginyu Force as quickly as he can. If not, then his chance for collecting all seven DragonBalls will go down the drain.

Vegeta now turned towards Burter and readied in his fighting stance. "Now it's your turn, you speckled, amphibian freak!"

Burter just scoffed at him. The scouter on his eye began to calculate numbers and then, an arrow appeared on his device, which was pointing to his right. "I'd love to take my turn, Vegeta, but he's still here, you know."

The Saiyan Prince was nervous to hear this. He quickly looked to his right and found Recoome in the midst of the haze and he was in one of his ridiculous poses. Recoome had only endured a few scratches on his body and armor.

He laughed. "Hah, hah! Impressive, Vegeta, but you shouldn't go full power on me or else, you'll spoil all the fun. I can't fight someone who's already tired at the start of the battle! That'll give me the opportunity to crush you with my bare hands easily."

Vegeta growled under his breath. He was already in trouble. Not even his full strength could hinder Recoome or perhaps any of the members of the Ginyu Force.

He must think of another way to overcome and outsmart them somehow to allow him to rise above his enemies no matter how powerful they were. Saiyans like him always get stronger every time they fought and so, he must rely on that now. Of course, that is if exhaustion does not get to him first.

"Stop making a fool out of me!" Vegeta demanded from Recoome. His aura surrounded him one more time, his potential skyrocketing. He rushed towards Recoome and resumed his fight with him.

Vegeta exchanged blows with him. Every punch and kick he gave, he made sure they were filled with full force. To his shock, Recoome seemed to be parrying his moves like nothing this time, but the Saiyan Prince found an opportunity to strike back and so, he went for an overwhelming fist of wrath to his face. Recoome was not fazed though.

"What?!" cried a shocked Vegeta.

Recoome suddenly grabbed his arms and tried to crush them. Vegeta struggled with all his might to escape from his grasp. He slammed his head against Recoome, hoping he would let go, but Recoome did not falter once again.

"Heh, heh! Recoome Elbow!" Recoome used one of his techniques, quickly going for an elbow strike straight to Vegeta's forehead. Blood was drawn out from it, his head jerking back as he cried out in terrible pain. Recoome then took Vegeta by the stomach, raised him up, and as he flew towards the ground, he powerfully threw his opponent against the surface. He made a crater there, shooting rocks and gravel everywhere.

Vegeta lied in the middle of the crater, holding his back in pain, trying to fight it. He cannot believe he was being humiliated like this, yet he cannot let any of his enemies know how weak he was. Vegeta quickly got up on his feet and persisted to carry on in this battle.

Meanwhile, at Frieza's ship, the Namekians that were captured recently from the village, where Elder Moori resided, had now arrived. Namekians that were in the basement of Frieza's ship, from one room, they saw them entering Frieza's ship through the window. One of them began to wonder where Elder Moori was including the two children whom he always took care of.

Meanwhile, the rest of the enslaved Namekians were all tired and in thirst for water after walking for miles in chains and bonds. Frieza's scouts took them all to the basement of the ship where the rest of the Namekians were locked away. There were not too many Namekians left in this planet since others had been killed. Some were currently in hiding though without Frieza's knowledge.

King Cold was making his way towards the basement where the village elders had been kept. He arrived at a door with two Frieza soldiers guarding outside. They saluted to King Cold. King Cold ordered them to open the door so that he may speak to the village elders. The guards obeyed his orders.

There were a handful of Namekians inside this room, most of which were children, some were adults, but all five village elders were there with them, the ones who were entrusted to guard the DragonBalls. Raditz and Krillin had saved the sixth village elder, of course, which was Elder Moori. The Eldest Namekian was mentioned once and he was the one who possessed the last DragonBall. He was not located yet, however.

The Namekians did not bother to look at King Cold. They were all sitting in the room in silence, keeping to themselves. King Cold had a grin on his face. He knew it would be difficult to force words to come out from any of these village elders even though they were at the brink of dehydration. They were all giving him and his son the silent treatment, but none of these Namekians had water in days. Surely, they would have to break soon.

King Cold thought it would ease the minds of these Namekians if he gave them some water to make it seem like he was generous to them, who had more heart than his son did. He snapped his fingers and ordered Frieza's guards to come to him.

"Yes, your Majesty!" the guards waited for his orders.

"Give these Namekians some water, and make sure _all_ Namekians get water from each and every room," King Cold commanded.

The Namekians inside the room seemed surprised to hear this. They all looked up except for the village elders who kept their heads down. They also had the Namekian children close to them.

The guards seemed hesitant to follow through with the king's order. One of them explained, "But your Majesty, Lord Frieza told us to refrain from providing the Namekians water until he gives the command-"

" _I'm_ the king," King Cold said firmly. "He's merely my son. This order will not be repeated again."

The guards were still uncertain to carry out his command. They did not want to disobey Frieza either.

"Oblige me," King Cold gave them the final warning.

The guards panicked. They called out their other comrades who were guarding the other rooms with the other Namekians locked inside. They told them to give water to the Namekians according to the king's orders. Most Namekians especially the children were just relieved that they had something to drink to keep on living despite being captured by the hands of their enemies.

However, the five village elders refused to drink their water. They all stood up, but they kept their heads down, their eyes away from King Cold.

King Cold stood in front of them with his arms crossed. He smirked. "I think it's only fair now that you tell me where the last DragonBall is."

The village elders refused to answer still.

King Cold chuckled. "So this is all the thanks I get? After providing you water?"

One of the elders spoke in an angry tone, "There'll be no gratitude you will receive from us, you heartless monster-"

"-and after providing your frail planet the necessities it needs to help restore it to the way it once was?" King Cold suddenly mentioned.

The village elders were confused.

One of the elders now stared into his eyes. "What do you mean?"

King Cold looked the other way. "Oh my, have you forgotten already? My crew and I had visited your planet once five years ago…to 'help' you Nameks restore your planet's beauty and breathe in the fresh air again."

It soon dawned on the Namekians that the very ones who had supported them before were now the same ones who were conquering their people and taking advantage of their DragonBalls. They had been deceived all along.

This happened five years ago. King Cold and his henchmen had always been interested in Planet Namek after hearing stories of its inhabitants having special powers and talents such as healing and the ability to mold and make magical, powerful creatures; hence, the DragonBalls and their wishes. Not to mention, King Cold was very interested in the fact that Namek had three suns in their solar system, which can provide a lot of energy for their planet. King Cold must investigate and evaluate Namek, learn every aspect of it and discover some of its secrets such as the mysterious DragonBalls. They must do this with caution though and with a small degree of charm to gain the Namekians' trust somehow.

He and his men decided to dress in heavy armor and have their faces covered with space masks so their true identities and faces would not be shown. They disguised themselves as space traders from an organization they named themselves, that they claimed to aid planets in meager and dire conditions. When they arrived on Namek, they claimed to the inhabitants they were these space travelers who go around in space and visit other planets in exchange for goods and supplies. King Cold had heard about the Namekians' struggle with the aftermath of their planet's radical climate change, he gave them basic supplies such as tools to rebuild their homes and villages. He also provided them genetically modified seeds that will sprout to Ajissa plants in which Namekians hailed as sacred, native plants to their home. These Ajissa plants were the very reason it added beauty and life to the home planet of the Namekians. King Cold also knew water was very essential to the diet of the Namekians and so, he helped them built wells and aquifers that will provide them clean drinking water. King Cold and his men stayed in their planet for a week, making it seem like they were very generous people who were there to help them. The Namekians gained so much trust from King Cold and his men, even the Eldest Namekian himself had welcomed him to this planet. In a private meeting between the disguised King Cold and the Grand Elder of the Namekians, King Cold asked if he could possibly know more about the DragonBalls. For the Eldest Namekian, even the power of the DragonBalls had to be kept secret. The only thing that the Grand Elder told King Cold was that the DragonBalls were entrusted to a village elder throughout their planet, and that he himself possessed the last one. To gain these DragonBalls, those with the wisest and purest of hearts could use them and discover the powers themselves. King Cold assured him that he did not intend to use the DragonBalls. He was only asking this question for mainly academic reasons.

King Cold and his men left Namek, giving time for the Namekians to rebuild their homes and do whatever they needed to do. The radical atmospheric change though had really affected the soil and weather of the planet, it was taking a long time for the Namekians to rebuild everything; nevertheless, the inhabitants did everything they can with all the supplies they were generously given with to restore their planet.

However, King Cold was only deceiving the Namekians. The real reason behind this plan of his was to give time for the Namekians to rebuild their planet, somehow improve their quality of life, and sustain enough energy in their planet. And then, when the time is right, King Cold, along with his son and his men, would rush in and take over their planet by surprise, enslave these hardworking Namekians, and transform their improving planet into a military, training base as well as an energy-mining site, which can help strengthen his and his son's Planet Trade Organization.

Of course, the time King Cold invaded their planet, which was a few days past, the Namekians had no idea that they were the same men who claimed themselves to be those space travelers in disguise five years ago. In a way, King Cold played on their emotions very well to easily gain their trust since at that time, the Namekians were desperate and in need for help. They could have never seen this trap.

"Your planet has improved," King Cold told the village elders, "but not as much as I hoped it to be…nevertheless, we had to conquer this planet anyway before anyone could get their hands on it first. This piece of jewel is now ours for the taking. And we will get those DragonBalls."

The Namekians growled with anger. "You-you lied to us all along!"

"It's really hard now to trust anyone outside of home, doesn't it? But like I said," King Cold reminded them, "no further harm will be done to your people if you just comply with us. I only ask one simple question: where _is_ the last DragonBall?"

The Namekians refused to answer them, even the village elders. All this anger was held in their hearts, yet, they kept reminding themselves that they were too powerless to do anything. All they could do was to say nothing.

Yet, the Namekians were forgetting about something very important.

King Cold sighed. He then told one of the guards to bring back the red wine he was drinking earlier from Frieza's room. Once it was handed to him, he took a few sips from it. He continued, "Why am I wasting my precious time asking you this question when you refuse to answer anyway? Maybe I just like to keep the suspense going. I almost forgot that I actually _know_ where the last DragonBall is…it's with the Eldest Namekian in this planet, isn't it?"

The Namekians were speechless, too shock to even describe what they just heard.

"And I know exactly where that old man lives," King Cold said. He finally turned his back from the Namekians, his cape shown to them designed with the symbol of his ruling. "The Eldest Namekian _did_ give me a promise that he'll hand me over the DragonBalls including the last one should I return to this planet as gratitude for my…generous deeds I had done before," he laughed.

Another one of the village elder decided to speak. "The fact that you were lying to us all along, slaughtering and enslaving our people to your every will, I'm sure he knows about it by now. He'll never hand you the last DragonBall!"

King Cold had a malevolent grin. "If that's the case, then I think it's time for you weaklings to hope that I won't have to _force_ him just to get the last DragonBall," he was about to leave the room.

One young Namekian warrior could no longer take this tyrant's cruel and evil nature. "You will never get away for what you did! HYAH!" he decided to attack him head-on.

"No, brother!" cried out the village elders.

He flew to him quickly, about to attack him from behind, straight to his neck to that pressure point that could kill the tyrant, yet he was able to sense his attack. He moved his body to the side and immediately, he used his steel-like arm to crush his neck and skull, ending his life at that moment. The Namekian warrior dropped to the floor, lifeless.

The rest of the Nameks were more shocked than ever. Some could faint from witnessing such tragedy. The children closed their eyes from this horror and began to cry.

King Cold did not look too pleased this time. "I did warn you, didn't I?" he ordered one of the guards to dispose the lifeless body of the Namekian warrior. With the glass of wine in his hand, he made his way back to the room where his son, Frieza, was waiting. The shocked Namekians were locked in their room again and once the door was closed, they all shed tears, grieving for their fallen brothers.

At another battle site, Zarbon and Dodoria's fight with Bardock raged on. It had only been a few minutes to this struggling battle and already, the top henchmen of Frieza were falling back. They cannot believe a low-leveled soldier like him could suddenly overcome them. He had definitely changed since last time.

Dodoria was having a hand-to-hand combat with Bardock and he was able to hit his stomach, but to his shock, he was not hurt at all. Bardock immediately went for a direct punch to his abdomen, blowing him away in the air. Zarbon came in and locked arms with the Saiyan, trying to overpower him. Suddenly, Bardock almost twisted his limbs, pulling them down, and then, did a shocking back-flip to his chin.

Zarbon stopped himself from being blown away. There was blood running down from his lips and he wiped it with his arm. Zarbon had no choice but to use a powerful skill, which he only used during desperate times and this time was a desperate one. He placed his right hand in front, his left hand on his elbow. In a split second, he gathered enough power to launch a scorching-like, golden-orange beam from the center of his hand. It shot across the skies like a shooting star, its burning rays spreading throughout the battlefield. Zarbon watched in frustration, hoping his "Elegant Blaster" would break Bardock's defense and throw him into a world of unending pain.

Surprisingly, Bardock did not react to this with fear, not even a shed of doubt. He grinned as he bent his arms and knees, preparing himself to take on Zarbon's most powerful technique. Once this fiery beam was only a few feet away from him, Bardock yelled and raised his defense high. He allowed Zarbon's technique to hit him instead, which left an intense, nuclear-like explosion behind and then, a dense cloud of smoke afterwards. After some time, their surroundings returned to normal.

Zarbon was breathing heavily. "That…that should've destroyed him," he believed.

Dodoria wiped the purple blood streaming from his forehead. "Serves him right!"

Zarbon moved his arms back towards the sides. "I can't believe how much power he actually held. How did he get so strong for a low-class Saiyan like him?"

"Does it really matter? He's long gone now! We don't have to worry anymore about this low-level scum ruining our plans again," Dodoria laughed. "So much for his mighty and prided attitude. I warned him for getting too cocky."

Zarbon used his scouter to see if Bardock was still there. It took time for his device to detect any signs of his presence.

"I can't believe my scouter broke already," Dodoria mentioned. "I just got that today!"

"I think we need to start making more useful devices that won't easily break during combat or something," Zarbon said. Before he continued this conversation, he gasped in surprise to find out what he just read on his scouter. "What?! It can't be!"

"What's wrong?" asked Dodoria.

"He-he's still here!" Zarbon stammered.

Dodoria became frustrated. "Are you kidding me? That has to be a mistake! There's no way he could've survived that-"

A different voice suddenly spoke to the troubled warriors. "The only mistake you're making is that you've been underestimating the power of the Saiyans."

That voice was closer to Zarbon's, and the moment he turned around, immediately, he was hit to the face and the force of the blow had destroyed his scouter. Then, he was struck to the stomach after sending an uppercut to it. Zarbon realized that it was Bardock and he was angered to know he was not injured at all.

Now with their scouters gone, Dodoria and Zarbon had no way now of contacting Frieza or any back-ups.

The top henchmen of Frieza did not give in yet, however. Dodoria took this chance to launch a barrage of energy blasts at Bardock. They left another fog behind to obscure Bardock's vision, but his senses remained heightened. Zarbon tried to do an ambush attack by going for a stream of rapid kicks with his left foot, but to his surprise, Bardock was evading every kick he did. After Zarbon gave his last attack, Bardock disappeared and reappeared much closer to him, landing another powerful punch to his chin.

"Rargh!" Bardock then teleported in front of him and struck him powerfully to his cheek with his armored arm. Zarbon was slammed against Dodoria and both of them crashed into the grounds of a nearby island.

Bardock had not made much effort in taking down these right-hand men of Frieza. He will never show mercy to any of his minions including the tyrant himself. Bardock settled on the island and began to advance towards Zarbon and Dodoria while his enemies struggled to get up on their feet. There were scratches and heavy wounds all over them. They almost felt like giving up.

As Bardock advanced towards them, he told them in a serious voice, "Like I said, you'll never get away for what you did to my race. That traitor, merciless Frieza will pay for what he did. Destroying them is the greatest mistake he could have ever done."

Zarbon glared at him. Suddenly, he lost balance and fell to one knee. His braided hair was over his shoulders, covering half of his face, blood running from his mouth and forehead. Bardock saw this and thought Zarbon will be the first one to fall unconscious, but then, he noticed a grin appearing on his face.

Zarbon suddenly mentioned to him, "You really have no idea what you're up against, Bardock," he stood up again and wiped the blood from his lips. "You Saiyans can get so arrogant; you fail to see what lies ahead of you."

Bardock retorted, "I've already seen everything what needs to be seen."

Zarbon decided to reveal to him a secret of his that he and even his comrade, Dodoria, had never known about. "Really? Have you really seen _everything_? Are you sure that you've also seen the hidden monster that could lie within your enemies?"

Dodoria looked at him, utterly confused by what he was saying.

"What are you talking about?" Bardock asked back.

Zarbon laughed under his breath. "Heh, heh, such a pity. I should warn you now that Lord Frieza has another monster lying within him…like what I'm about to show you from myself."

"What do you mean by that?" Dodoria asked him.

Bardock stopped moving and stood some distances apart from his enemies.

Zarbon grinned even more. "Do you know the old saying 'Beauty is only skin deep'? Well, right now you're only seeing the beauty."

Bardock remained motionless while maintaining a serious expression.

Zarbon then spread his arms to the side. Bardock immediately sensed his strength gradually increasing. This got him curious and he wondered what was going on, all his talk about a "monster" lying within him and Frieza.

Zarbon was surrounded by dark aura as he announced to him, "I seldom use this because of how freakishly hideous I will _transform_ into, but I'll do it to eliminate you once and for all! Now prepare to see the beastly side of me!"


	15. Opposing Rivals

Episode 60

Opposing Rivals

 _Slam!_

"I can't believe this! Why did you give those pathetic Namekians some water?!" questioned Frieza, slamming his tail against the armrests of his throne.

King Cold was sitting on a chair, finishing the glass of wine in his hand. "You're making this too much of a big deal, Frieza. How can I speak to them if they're all dying of thirst? I did you tell I wanted to ask them a few questions…I had to dispose one defiant pest though."

Frieza turned his back from him whilst growling under his breath. "If you recall, Father, _I_ should be the one giving the orders around here."

King Cold smirked and reminded him. "Did you not hear me? It's useless to keep these Namekians in your ship if they all die from dehydration. I thought we still needed them once we get all the DragonBalls and take over this planet."

Frieza did not say anything this time. He sighed with irritation. He walked near where the DragonBalls were and kept his ruby red eyes fixed on them.

King Cold stood up, his glass now empty. He gave it to a guard standing outside of the room to have it cleaned. "You should focus on more relevant things like our mission here: immortality and domination, remember?"

Frieza crossed his arms and his hands' grip on them tightened. "I already know _that_ , Father."

 _Whoosh!_

Outside of Namek, heavy winds blew from side to side for a while and then, all fell silent.

Bardock kept to where he was, gravely staring at Zarbon. Zarbon's comrade, Dodoria, was still mystified by what he said earlier ago.

If what Zarbon said was true, that this new power he will reveal to Bardock will definitely conquer him this time, Dodoria insisted with impatience, "Well, what are you waiting for, Zarbon? If you're just gonna stall time, I'll destroy this Saiyan myself!"

Zarbon suddenly held his hand in front of him, demanding Dodoria to silence himself. He continued to raise his power, his dark aura engulfing him.

He began to chuckle while giving a malevolent smile. In a single grunt, his strength rapidly exceeded many heights. He gained a few inches in height, his body and his muscles grew. His gorgeous face made the most transformation as it now changed into a repulsive monster.

Dodoria was shocked. "What the?!"

Indeed, this was Zarbon's true form; transforming from a handsome, prince-like warrior into a fearsome beast of great power. "Hah, hah!" Zarbon laughed with pride.

"Th-that's your true form, Zarbon?" asked Dodoria.

Zarbon chuckled again.

Bardock's eyes widened. He, too, was quite surprised. He then felt his power level by using his senses. He admitted that it did increase significantly, but even now, he was not troubled at all. He closed his eyes and suddenly, a chuckle passed from his lips. "Heh, heh…woah, what happened to you?"

As Zarbon spoke, his voice was in a much lower pitch and rumbling tone. "Don't underestimate me now, you Saiyan filth! You've seen the beauty side of me before and now with great pleasure, I introduce you to the beast!"

All of a sudden, Zarbon launched a fierce blast towards Bardock. Bardock was caught by surprise, but he was able to evade it still. The blast instead left a huge hollow on the island. Bardock levitated in the skies, his hair moving gently with the breeze of air that just came in.

Unbeknownst to Zarbon and Dodoria, Bardock had already teleported behind them and he readied for a punch. He first blew away Dodoria with a sharp kick to the side and then, a strong elbow strike at Zarbon's back. Dodoria crashed into a small cliff, feeling dizzied now from this collision. As for Zarbon, he almost lost his footing, but he turned around and countered with a punch of his own at Bardock's chest. Bardock was shoved back and he slid on the surface, his feet sliding off dust and generating heat underneath them, but he immediately stopped and used this force to accelerate towards Zarbon. Through the grey smoke, he spun around twice to gain momentum and went for a crushing attack with his arm and then, with a powerful blow with his left fist. Zarbon felt pain and was pushed back, but he persisted to overcome him with this new transformation.

"Rargh!" Zarbon roared at him. He dashed towards Bardock and gave a sweep kick, tripping him. Bardock fell, but he used his hand to push him right back up on his feet. In return, he extended his foot and tripped his enemy back. Zarbon was caught by surprise this time and before he touched the surface, Bardock rapidly threw a straight punch to his chest.

"Augh!" Zarbon hit his back against a small plateau. He flew towards the skies to regain his concentration somehow. With his true form now and his newly gained power, he should inflict some damage to Bardock now. His rage added to his strength, he released an energy blast towards the ground once again to distract Bardock.

Bardock avoided this and took wing. He powered up a bit, his blue aura enclosing him. He attacked him head-on and delivered a flurry of skillful punches. At the end, he was about to go for a fist of wrath straight to Zarbon's face and inflict severe damage to him, but to his surprise, Zarbon was able to grab his hand, blocking his attack. Bardock was quick on his reflexes though and attempted to counterattack until all of a sudden, his mind brought him another vision from the future.

"Huh?" Bardock was sidetracked. In this vision, he saw his youngest son, Goku, having a one-on-one battle against who seemed to be the galactic overlord himself, but he was unsure if this was actually Frieza. He had this strong feeling that this could be somebody else.

Zarbon suddenly grabbed his face and slammed his head against his, throwing Bardock back. It actually left a bruise on his forehead, but it was still not enough to make him fall unconscious.

"I'll get you for that!" Bardock shouted. His aura sparked up with gust of winds coming out from his body as he moved towards him. He went for a sharp, flying sidekick to his stomach, which almost broke his armor.

Zarbon was carried off in the winds. Afterwards, Bardock released his Full-Powered Energy Wave at him. The vivid beam shot across the skies and it was about to hit Zarbon, but he was able to dodge it just in time, leaving it to explode in the background instead.

"Is that the best you can do?" Zarbon tried to provoke him, to make it seem like his skill in battle would struggle to compare to his.

The two then rushed towards each other, their fists colliding and soon, the relentless warriors were engaged in a blows clash as they gave each other rapid fire of punches and kicks. It did not take Bardock long to gain the upper-hand once more as threw a quick jab to Zarbon's chin, ending his chain of combo right there. He was about to land his next attack until once again, his precognitive foresight presented him another vision.

" _Not again!"_ Bardock said with frustration. This was a familiar vision this time, seeing that same man shining in pure, golden light and he was confronting a formidable enemy. That vision passed and before Bardock knew it, his mere distraction was taken advantage of as Zarbon did an aerial back-flip to his chin. A technique of his called the "Purple Circle", his movement left an airborne, rounded flash of violet aura from his feet.

Bardock's head jerked back and felt some pain this time. His frustration boiled again. It seemed that every time he fights, it will trigger his precognition and will start barraging him with images from the future. He must learn how to control his gift of foresight somehow before it becomes a real drawback especially if he was fighting.

As for Dodoria, he was able to get back on his feet, wobbling a little from Bardock's painful attacks earlier ago. He decided to help Zarbon before Bardock could gain the upper-hand again.

Dodoria flew towards the skies and clutched Bardock behind, catching him by surprise. He tried to squeeze every life out of him, not letting him escape from his grasps. Bardock gritted his teeth together as he strongly moved his neck back, striking him to the head. Dodoria's face ached, he had to let go of him to hold his face and soothe the pain.

"Hyah!" instantly, Bardock turned and went for a swift and intense sidekick to his waist, blowing him away once again.

Dodoria's nose bled and it almost fractured. He had no choice but to use the fullest of his power to inflict damage to Bardock somehow.

As enraged he was, that Bardock did not seem to falter in any way, Dodoria raised his hands together, a sphere of flashing, orange-colored energy forming between his palms.

"You will die!" Dodoria declared as he brought his hands forward, converting this spherical energy into a long wave of intense and heavy beam, ought to be filled with growing power.

Bardock watched as it approached him lightning-fast. With full awareness shown in his eyes, he used his right hand to actually clutch onto Dodoria's technique called "Maximum Buster." The moment it made contact with his hand, the fiery beam struggled to overcome him.

Dodoria noticed this and he became angrier. He tried to push beyond his limits by implementing more might into his super attack. Bardock quickly noticed a difference as the size of his enemy's technique became larger and the force of it became stronger. It suddenly pushed his hand back a few inches, but Bardock was far from even thinking about of giving up. The Saiyan warrior then built his own strength and with a strong, battle yell, he repelled Dodoria's Maximum Buster with a force field coming out from his hand and generated gust of winds from it. Now the Maximum Buster technique was heading towards its own user.

"No!" Dodoria cursed this, but he was lucky enough to evade it at the last minute before his own technique had devoured him whole. It hit another island in the background and triggered a perilous explosion.

Dodoria turned around, realizing how his Maximum Buster could have blown him up into space dust after observing its concentration of power. When he turned around to face Bardock again, the Saiyan had already struck his face, sending him to a world of unending pain. After taking a successful hit at him, he did not know that Zarbon had gotten behind him and with his hands clasped together, he went for a hard-knuckled strike at Bardock's head.

Bardock had let his guard down a little and therefore, did not anticipate this. He felt slightly dizzied as he rushed towards the surface. The monstrous Zarbon then grabbed him from behind and hurried to the island as if he was going to crash along with him, but at the last minute, he let him go and Bardock collided with the ground, shooting huge rocks everywhere and leaving a crater in the middle. The force of Zarbon's "Monster Crush" was almost unbelievable, it left a heavy quake throughout the island.

In another battle site, Vegeta was slowly losing to Recoome and to his brute power. Vegeta was spending all his energy, all the effort just to take him down, but he was slowly falling back. After Recoome went for a ferocious kick that almost had him crash into a mountain, Vegeta retaliated.

"Take this!" Vegeta leaped into the air and pointed his index and middle fingers. From the tip of them, he released a burst of pulverizing energy, but Recoome had no problem avoiding it at all.

He moved to the side and mocked him. "Hah, hah! Miss!"

Vegeta became aggravated. "Get back here!" his dark aura began to emerge and encircle him. He cannot let his enemies humiliate him like this. He had already been brought to shame, his pride destroyed, too many times.

The Saiyan Prince dashed towards him, which left a trace of his furious aura behind. He fought with him single-handedly, using all the possible moves and skills he could do. He endeavored to break through his defense and tire him out. Recoome, this time, was keeping up with his swiftness and parrying his every attack. He laughed at him, thinking this was too easy of a battle.

"Rargh!" Vegeta gave a battle cry as he tried to break him and fracture his ribs with full force from his fist, but Recoome stopped his chain of attack by grabbing his hand once again.

Burter continued to watch from a distance, but he was becoming impatient. "Recoome, finish him already! Don't force me to step in and finish the job for you."

Recoome then pulled his opponent towards him to make him lose balance. Then, he flew behind him and struck him on the back, hurling him towards the surface once again; however, Vegeta kept up with his footing and instead, slid on the floor, but left unbearable bruises on his knees. He closed an eye as he endured pain overtaking his entire body, but he cannot let his enemies show how weak he was.

Recoome told his comrade, "Yeah, yeah, I know, Burter. Just give me five more minutes of pounding time and then we can take this stubborn monkey to Lord Frieza."

The Prince of all Saiyans heard what he said and spat at him. "Shut up! Like I said before, I won't go down that easily!" he immediately got up from his feet while fighting the pain. He took wing and advanced towards Recoome with haste. He fought with him once again, throwing all the punches and surprising counterattacks he could make, but to his shock, Recoome was not breaking a sweat at all.

Burter was getting more and more impatient. He believed that Recoome just wanted to play around and torture Vegeta all day. "Ugh, come on already!" he decided to take matters into his own hands. Self-proclaiming himself as the fastest in the universe, he demonstrated this by rushing behind Vegeta in just the blink of an eye. The Saiyan Prince felt a gust of wind blowing at his face before he became fully aware that Burter was standing behind him.

"Hah, hah!" Burter laughed as he zipped around him in an almost impossible speed. Vegeta could barely keep up with his eyes. All he could see was his blue aura almost blanketing him, which intended to make him confused. Before long, Burter delivered an overwhelming sidekick to the prince's neck and it almost paralyzed him. Vegeta, once more, fell towards the ground fast and this time, he collided with it, which left a hazy fog afterwards.

Recoome flew beside Burter and began to argue with him. "Hey, that's no fair. You cheated!"

"What do you mean I cheated?" Burter asked.

"Now you'll never win the chocolate buffet contest. It wasn't your turn, Burter!" scolded Recoome.

"There were no rules to this contest we're having," Burter smirked, his red eyes keeping track of where he struck down the Saiyan Prince a few seconds ago. "Just as long I find Vegeta, I'm still in the game."

"Yeah, but you also gotta find Raditz and a DragonBall in order for you to win," Recoome reminded him.

Burter then descended towards the island. "Hold on a second…where the heck are we gonna get all the chocolate anyway? I doubt Lord Frieza packed some in his ship."

Recoome followed him. "Uh, I don't know. We can steal some from Jeice and Guldo," he then laughed at the thought of it. "They told me they brought some chocolate bars with them just in case they get hungry."

"Hah, hah! Just wait and see the looks on their faces if we do that," Burter smirked.

The two resurfaced and now stood with their arms crossed. After the fog cleared, they realized that a much larger crater was made and Vegeta was now submerged and half-buried underneath the soils of Namek. His feet were sticking out. He could not breathe at all.

"Looks like the prince has finally been thrown out from his throne," Burter believed.

"Heh, heh," Recoome picked him up by the leg. Vegeta's Saiyan armor had now been battle-damaged with wounds all over his body. His forehead and lips were bleeding and badly bruised. "You're right. He's such a weakling. And look, he looks like a vegetable about to be picked. Heh, heh!"

There was a moment of silence. No one said a word. Burter then nudged his friend with his elbow and urged him that they take Vegeta to Frieza as soon as possible. Just before they were to leave, Vegeta suddenly awoke. He will not give up yet.

"…RAARGH!" as if the Prince of all Saiyans had sprung back to life, he countered with an energy blast straight to Recoome's face. Recoome was caught by surprise. He let go of Vegeta and fell to the ground, his face clouded with smoke.

"What?!" Burter cried.

Vegeta then quickly flew a few feet backward to keep some distances from his opponents. His legs wobbled and his body quivered as pain continued to overtake him, but for now, his stubbornness and pride were the only traits that were helping him remain in this fight. He angrily stared at Recoome.

Recoome though got up with no struggle at all. Vegeta cannot believe that his sneaky attack had only shaved and messed up his orange-Mohawk hair. He grinned evilly. "Heh, heh, now that's just mean, Vegeta. I just got a nice haircut before I flew in to Namek and now you have to ruin it! But I'm impressed. No wonder you're one of Frieza's favorites in his army."

Burter found his comrade to have quite the sense of humor. "I guess laughing at your new haircut wouldn't make any difference, will it, Recoome?"

Vegeta did not say another word, but he knew for him, time was running out. There was too much pain to endure and his fatigue had finally caught up with him. Even at his full strength, he was still no match to Recoome and now, even to Burter. He held his aching arm, his mind in a state of rage. He was desperately trying to find a way to win this battle.

While the Saiyan Prince tried to come up with a new plan, Bardock, on the other hand, had fallen to the ground. The impact of his heavy fall made a larger crater. In addition, Zarbon's Monster Crush had pushed the island a few inches downward, which allowed water from the oceans to flow in and fill the hollow. Bardock continued to remain in the middle.

Zarbon breathed heavily while Dodoria flew beside him. He held his hurting abdomen and asked him, "Is it over?"

Zarbon, still in his monstrous form, said with a heavy growl, "He should be. No one could ever survive that attack of mine. And now he's submerged in water, he'll be drowning in it soon. He's dead now."

The top henchmen of Frieza watched as the waters continued to rush in, filling the crater until the oceans had completely covered it.

Zarbon thought that the battle was over and so, he decided to revert to his normal form. His muscles, height, and body went back to normal size, his face became the once gorgeous man he was, and his voice had turned back to normal as well.

Dodoria looked at him for a moment. He then asked, "Why didn't you try to transform before, Zarbon?"

"I thought we could beat him easily in my first try," Zarbon told him, "but he has definitely changed since last time."

"But the outcome is still all the same," Dodoria then grinned. "He will always be a low-class Saiyan…"

Dodoria and Zarbon decided they should leave and report this to their master, Frieza. Before they had gone, Zarbon caught something strange from the corner of his eye. He looked again at the crater. The waters had stopped filling it and now had become motionless and still.

Zarbon was taken to shock when he realized he cannot see Bardock anywhere. "What?!" he cried with shock.

"What is it?" asked Dodoria, flying back to him.

"He's gone!" Zarbon exclaimed.

They nearly panicked when they felt a shadow looming over them, his back facing towards the brilliant sun. They quickly turned around and found Bardock standing in front of them. His armor was slightly scratched, his body drenched in water, and there was only a small cut on his right cheek. Just before Zarbon and Dodoria could react, Bardock declared to them, "I'm done playing games. You're finished."

After the last droplet fell from his chin, unexpectedly, Bardock yelled, which echoed in the air, and he thrust out a shuddering force field from his body. Both Zarbon and Dodoria were caught in this and immediately, there were several cuts all over their bodies like invisible needles swiftly passing them. Bardock then charged towards Dodoria and went for an elbow strike straight to his face, followed by a sweep kick, and then, with his right hand, he launched a Full-Power Energy Wave.

Dodoria was severely injured from Bardock's "Flash Spirit" and he fell unconscious right at that moment. He fell towards another adjacent island and laid there.

Zarbon tried to strike back in a swirl of panic, but Bardock immediately went for a fierce punch directly to his abdomen, making his opponent's eyes almost turn white. The pain was just petrifying, his mind had almost gone black. Bardock then decided to prepare the final blow. Raising his left hand in front of him to keep stability and with his right hand drawn back, his right palm was ablaze, heat and ember gradually appearing around his fingers.

"Rargh!" Bardock rapidly moved forward and gave a soaring uppercut to his enemy. More power was gained as the flames ignited and spread to concur their wrath, concluding his Heat Phalanx technique. Zarbon's skin burned and hurt and he cried out in pain. At that moment, he fell on the same island beside Dodoria. The two of them were now deeply out cold.

Bardock was not done dealing with them yet. He landed near them and placed his hand in front of the two. "Now…," his hand began to form a flashing, perilous kind of energy from the center of his palm. In seconds' time, the faint light intensified and grew brighter and brighter. He was planning to obliterate them this time and finally avenge his loyal comrades.

Returning to Frieza's ship, King Cold and Frieza were waiting patiently for the Ginyu Force, Zarbon, and Dodoria to report to them any sightings of Vegeta, Raditz, or a DragonBall, but so far, they received no messages.

Frieza was getting impatient again, but he tried to keep calm. He decided he should call his elites, Zarbon and Dodoria, and see what they had found so far. He used his new scouter to contact them. He gave a few tries and a few minutes of waiting, but no one was answering.

Frieza was finding this to be too strange. "What is this?"

His father looked at him.

Frieza tried contacting his top henchmen again, but still, no answer. He began to feel livid, his hands starting to curl into fists. If neither Zarbon nor Dodoria was answering him back, he could only think of one possible explanation. He felt like his subordinates were suddenly failing him left and right. He could never accept this especially with all the military training he had made them went through. He began to think if the Ginyu Force members would do the same thing to him.

From behind, a guard called out to Frieza and informed him that Guldo had arrived. Guldo entered the room, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head in respect.

"Lord Frieza!" Guldo said.

Frieza was in a terrible mood. "You're a little earlier than expected, Guldo…and empty-handed."

Guldo then stood up. "Yes, Lord Frieza, but I discovered something during my travels that you may well be aware about."

Frieza kept his back turned to him. He was hurrying him to tell him already before he loses his patience.

Guldo sensed the emperor's quick temper. He gulped hard. "There were these warriors…warriors that seem to side with the Namekians, and they look like Saiyans! I fought them for a while, but I had to retreat since I was outnumbered. Of course, I'll return and get my revenge on them-"

The galactic overlord was more irritated than ever. " _What_ are you trying to get at?"

Guldo went straight to the point. "These warriors that look like Saiyans, they're neither Vegeta nor Raditz. One is a small kid and the other is a full-grown man. He's wearing a Saiyan armor that looks like ours…except it's green and without shoulder plates."

Frieza's eyes widened. Suddenly, everything fell dead silent. King Cold sensed the air tensing up quite a bit. He could read his son's expression and it seemed like he just heard something not too pleasant. Guldo just shook nervously, panicking if he had said something wrong that could have triggered their master's anger.

However, Frieza almost could not believe what he was hearing. He needed to confirm. He needed further evidence. He asked Guldo, "Are there any more…distinguishable features from this man you saw?"

Guldo thought quickly. "Well…yes. He wears a red bandanna and I think he also has a scar, too, on his cheek. Not to mention, his hairstyle is so weird."

Frieza felt he had discovered a shocking revelation. He could not tell if Guldo was just dreaming or saw a ghost (of course, he is a psychic after all), but this man whom he described seemed very much alive. Now he remembered Zarbon and Dodoria. They were not responding back no matter how many times he tried to reach them with his scouter. His henchmen whom he sent out throughout Namek to retrieve his stolen DragonBall, they were not coming back.

He felt there was another warrior on this planet who was, or who will endanger his plans…once again.

"Lord Frieza?" Guldo asked. He was not speaking at all.

King Cold continued to stare at his son.

Frieza finally spoke, but this time, there was great shock in his voice, yet anger as well; unimaginable anger, if he wanted to, he could eradicate the entire planet in an explosive rage. He placed his finger on his scouter and contacted someone.

In another area of the planet, someone communicated with him. "Yes, Lord Frieza, this is Captain Ginyu."

"…Captain Ginyu, get yourself and your comrades back here," Frieza ordered. "I need to discuss a serious matter with everyone. You better be here in five minutes."

Ginyu obeyed his orders. "Yes, Lord Frieza! We'll be there!"

Their conversation ended. Frieza's anger was building more and more in his chest, his eyes seemed to burn deep, a more bloody red color. He realized he was stalling time too much. He believed he was not harsh enough with his subjects in order to promptly accomplish their task here of collecting the DragonBalls and making him immortal. He realized he had far more enemies standing in the way of his plans; he may just miss his opportunity of gaining eternal life. At the back of his mind, his ruling might actually be threatened now.


	16. Uncertainty

Episode 61

Uncertainty

Every second, the faint sphere at the center of Bardock's hand formed a dangerous kind of energy that will definitely finish off Zarbon and Dodoria. If he were to do this now, he would finally avenge his fallen comrades. It had been twenty years too long. This was now the day when he can finally fulfill his promise.

Bardock was telling himself that he must make this happen here and now.

The energy from his hand blinked and shone even more. It was growing brighter and brighter, ready to destroy Frieza's right-hand men. Zarbon and Dodoria remained injured, motionless, and unconscious. They will meet their ends sooner than they thought.

Time passed. Silence took in.

"…," Bardock remained in that position. He had already formed his attack. All he needed to do now was to execute this and finish his enemies.

"…"

A few more seconds had passed. Nothing happened still.

"…?" Bardock found himself looking over Zarbon and Dodoria. The two were coughing up blood. They were helpless, vulnerable and suffering under tremendous amount of pain.

Suddenly, Bardock felt something inside of him. It was almost unnatural. Was he…hesitating?

Bardock shook his head. He must remember why he was here. He cannot let this chance slip from his hands or else, he might regret it at the end. Suddenly, he drew his hand back and placed it in front of his enemies again. He allowed his attack to gather even more power, far enough that it might even destroy the island he was standing on.

Saiyans were a fearless and unbending warrior race, and Bardock was using this reason to judge his actions now. He must know it was his duty; a task he had entrusted upon himself. He felt accountable for letting his home planet fell into the hands of that tyrant and all those who served him despite he saw visions of it; therefore, he must make amends for his mistakes somehow.

Just about Bardock carried out his task, suddenly, he remembered something from the past. He reminisced about his son, Goku, and all the things he said to his brother back on Earth, when they decided to spare Vegeta and let him go. Goku was trying to tell his brother to show what it means to be merciful and how everyone deserves a chance to change.

Bardock became confused. He was starting to question himself and his Saiyan pride. He was caught in between his revenge and this feeling…of mercy. This was the very first time in his life he encountered such a strange, new feeling in this kind of situation.

Bardock shook his head again. He kept reminding himself that he must not let this chance slip from his grasps. He tried to ignore what he was feeling and just carry out his mission.

"RARGH!" he drew his arm back once more and as he moved it forward, he finally released his perilous blast. It hit the surface of the island and emitted a bright flash of light. It erupted and left an explosion behind.

It took a while for his surroundings to return to normal. As soon as the gray haze faded away, Bardock had made an enormous crater on the island; however, he had completely missed Zarbon and Dodoria. The two henchmen were still unconscious and were not awakened by the Saiyan's shattering wave regardless the piercing noise that came from it and echoed throughout the battlefield.

Bardock's eyes and arms shook a little. This mystified him. At the last minute, he held back everything. He became reluctant with his decision. He became even more reluctant when he saw his silver ring around his finger.

He glanced at it for a moment and then, with great difficulty, Bardock pulled his arm back and turned his head away. He gnashed his teeth together, growling under his breath.

As much as he did not want to admit it, for now, he cannot possibly do this. He looked up at the skies; the expression in his eyes seemed to convey that he was trying to say "sorry."

He may have changed as a warrior as a whole. He may have become more kind to others, but he would have never imagined it would get to a point when he would also feel a slight pity even for his own enemies.

"…screw this," Bardock cursed. His clear aura enclosed him as he suddenly took off into the skies. Winds spun around him and he left the unconscious Zarbon and Dodoria behind. He abandoned them and made his way back to Gohan and the rest.

He would just have to deal with his enemies later.

"Uwagh!" Vegeta was blown away once more. Recoome had struck him on his face once again, drawing out blood. He then pursued him and grabbed the prince's face. With a laugh, Recoome took Vegeta to the ground and viciously slid him across the surface, his body burying deep in it.

Vegeta shouted with more pain. This was tormenting every part his body, yet, the anger inside of him burnt more than ever.

Recoome continued to hold onto Vegeta's face. He lifted him up and now ran towards a sturdy cliff and was about to smash him on it, but the Saiyan Prince escaped from his grasps just in time. With all the remaining strength he had, he clutched Recoome's arms and with his right foot, he got him with a fast, sharp hook kick.

"Woah!" Recoome was thrown off and he slammed against the cliff instead.

Vegeta took full speed and dashed away from him. He almost lost his conscious for a moment since due to too much pain, but he cannot let it hold him back now. He readied a set of destructive energy blasts for Recoome until Burter suddenly appeared right in front of him. His unmatchable speed made Vegeta almost question why he did not see him coming at all. Before he could even comprehend this, Burter kicked him high to the chin and sent him to the skies.

Vegeta bit his lip and tried to pay no heed to this unbearable pain. His pride will not be destroyed once again. Enraged, he went ahead and launched his set of energy blasts from his hands. Each contained different levels of strengths, but enough to inflict severe damage if he could.

"Hyah, hyah, hyah!" Vegeta shouted with all his might. He blanketed both Recoome and Burter with these scorching blasts.

Burter's speed allowed him to evade every one of them while Recoome took off high into the skies to avoid the cluster of energy blasts altogether.

"All right, you wanna play fetch, huh? Try this then!" Recoome readied another technique of his. Both of his hands began to light up as he yelled, "Recoome…Renegade Bomber!" immediately, a barrage of red, homing blasts emerged from his hands and targeted Vegeta all at once. He released them in a fast motion to make it seem like a thousand meteors were about devour the prince whole.

Vegeta panicked. He could not possibly elude all of them, not in his current condition. He did his best to avoid them nevertheless, but he was having a great deal of trouble.

As Vegeta moved to the side to escape one energy blast, his head had a brief, yet sharp pain. It distracted him, which allowed another one of Recoome's crimson blast to take a direct hit on his chest. The prince cried out in enormous pain. It felt like flames were burning his entire chest. He fell from the skies, his body covered with smoke as he dropped to the floor.

"Augh!" Vegeta held his chest.

Recoome laughed. "Hah, hah! Got him!"

Burter grinned to see their opponent weakening every second. Suddenly, his scouter turned on. Someone from the other side of the planet wanted to communicate with him. "Huh? Who's this?" Burter called back.

It was Ginyu. "Burter, listen up. Lord Frieza had ordered us to head back to his ship. I already talked to Jeice about it and Guldo's with Lord Frieza now. Do you know where Recoome is? I've been trying to contact him like a million times!"

"Recoome's with me, Captain," Burter replied, holding his scouter. "We're a bit busy at the moment, that's why."

"Busy?" asked Ginyu. "But Lord Frieza is in a hurry. You know he hates delays!"

"But Captain," Burter tried to say, "this is really important. We've found Vegeta! We're gonna bring him to Lord Frieza as soon as we're done dealing with him."

Ginyu was surprised to hear this. "Vegeta? Heh, heh, good work then. Lord Frieza will be pleased to hear this. I'll let him know about it, but still, make sure you hurry up!"

"We're on it, Captain," Burter finished his conversation with Ginyu.

Recoome looked at his companion. "Was that Captain Ginyu, Burter? What did he say?"

"He told us to head back to Lord Frieza's ship," Burter said. "I don't know why, but he seems to be in a hurry. It must be something serious."

"Hmm," Recoome turned to face Vegeta. "Then let's finally put this Saiyan to his place, shall we? And bring him back to Lord Frieza he as requested."

At that moment, Vegeta had just stood up, but he was on his knees. His forehead was bleeding so much. His armor was damaged, his jumpsuit tearing a little, and both of his shoulder plates had been cut off. Covered in so much wounds and heavy bruising, he was almost at his wit's end.

He slowly looked up and realized his vision was getting blurry. He felt another sharp pain in his forehead. He held it and tried to get rid of the ache.

At that point, his eyes grew wide to hear these quick footsteps. Burter was about to go after him. Vegeta had no choice but to force himself to stand on his own two legs. Afterwards, Burter threw a hasty punch, but luckily for the prince, he evaded that one thanks to a last-second reflex. He counterattacked by going for a strong knee-strike to his opponent's abdomen, but it did very little to hinder him.

"What?!" Vegeta cried with disbelief. His strength now had practically almost gone to none.

"My turn!" Burter then presented him with rapid-fire kicks, a skill of his called "Mach Kick." Every hit, it jerked Vegeta's face left to right, back and forth. He was forced to spurt more blood from his mouth. His eyes almost turned white. He cannot feel his face as if it went numb.

Burter then went for the last kick to his abdomen, propelling him away. Vegeta was helplessly about to collide with another rocky cliff to inflict more damage to him. Recoome though decided that he should be the one to wreak him and end this battle quickly.

Recoome suddenly crushed his back with a knee strike of his own. He then clasped his hands together and launched a heavy blow to his head. Vegeta collided with the ground and since the distance between him and the surface was very short, the force became powerful and it made a quake throughout the island.

Vegeta was silenced. He could not let out his voice. Immediately, he fell unconscious and was defeated.

Burter and Recoome saw the prince lying very still as if there was no movement left in his body. He did not even fidget if pain surged in his body.

"What the? You didn't just kill him, did you?!" Burter questioned his companion.

"Of course not!" Recoome shook his head. "I just gave him a really good beating, that's all!"

"Ugh! Come on, Recoome!" Burter then went to the prince's side and checked for his pulse. Thankfully, he felt a faint beating from him. He sighed with relief. "Aah, he's still alive. I won't even tell you what Lord Frieza will do to us if you had killed him instead!"

Recoome snorted. "I may not look like it, but I know how to control my own power, Burter. Trust me," he then picked up the unconscious Vegeta and carried him over his shoulder. He and Burter then lifted themselves in mid-air.

"Come on, let's go before he wakes up," Recoome urged.

The two headed back to Frieza.

Meanwhile, Captain Ginyu and Jeice had already arrived at Frieza's ship. They made their way towards the second floor and into the control room. When they arrived, the guards opened the door for them. In front of them were Frieza and King Cold who had stood up from his chair.

Guldo was in the room and when he saw his companions, he informed Frieza about it.

Frieza turned around, now facing them with the five DragonBalls behind him.

"Lord Frieza!" Captain Ginyu and Jeice saluted.

Frieza immediately took notice that two people were missing. Even Guldo realized this.

"Where's Recoome and Burter?" asked Frieza sternly. "Didn't I tell you to get _everyone_ here?"

"They will be back, Lord Frieza," Ginyu answered. "They have some business to take care of. You see, they were able to find Vegeta."

"Vegeta?" Frieza asked. Soon, he began to grin. At least, his elites here were getting the job right. They were known for their quick response and efficiency with orders after all; therefore, he was correct in summoning them to this planet as early as possible.

King Cold crossed his arms. "Vegeta, huh? I wonder how strong he has really become. If he is bold enough to defy his own master, then his newly-gained potential might actually be worth something to see."

Frieza grinned evilly. "Or he must've hit his head too hard, he's lost all his common sense. I told you before, Father, these Saiyan monkeys have a bad habit of being reckless and impulsive. Vegeta has the extremities of these pitiful traits. He'll soon regret defying me in the first place."

He then turned his attention to the members of the Ginyu Force. "We'll wait for Recoome and Burter. Then, I will tell you why I summoned you back here."

Ginyu, Jeice, and Guldo wondered what this could be.

Underneath the sun, the waters of Namek remained completely still. The winds had not blown for a while and the creatures of Namek kept quiet for a very long time. The planet itself was slowly becoming lifeless.

Gohan had finally arrived at the cave where Bulma and the others were seeking shelter. "Made it!" he said with a sigh.

The half-Saiyan then lowered his power level more to avoid being detected.

Inside Bulma's mini-house, she was preparing lunch for all her friends. Krillin was talking Bulma everything what he and Raditz had encountered. Raditz was sitting on the couch, his hand rested on his right shoulder. He was trying to make sure not to move it as much even though Cargo had already healed it. Elder Moori was sitting with the Namekian children as Dende and Cargo were taking a short, yet peaceful nap with warm blankets over their shoulders. The DragonBall that Raditz and Krillin took was hidden in a safe place.

"Really?" Bulma asked Krillin after he told their story. "You guys must have had a rough time. I'm glad nothing really serious happened with you and Raditz," she then quickly glanced at Moori and the Namekian children.

She was done preparing lunch. She then took out the dishes while Krillin helped her set up the table.

"Lunch is ready," Bulma informed. She then approached the Namekians. "Um, are you guys hungry? We prepared food if you like to eat."

Elder Moori looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Miss. Do you have water on the table?"

"Of course," Bulma smiled back.

Moori then gently woke up Cargo and Dende. He did not want to disturb their sleep, but he wanted to make sure that they receive the nutrients they need.

While they were busy getting themselves ready for lunch, Raditz suddenly sensed a faint life force from outside. He stood up slowly and stared at the door.

"Hey, Raditz, you wanna eat with us?" asked Krillin, but then, he saw this expression on his face.

"Hold on," Raditz said and without another word, he quickly left the house and closed the door behind him. This left Krillin a little confused.

Raditz took caution to see who might be entering the cave. Soon, he heard the voice of a young boy, "Hello! Bulma? Are you here? Where are you?"

"Gohan," Raditz realized it was his nephew. With a sigh of relief, he emerged from the darkness and met Gohan outside.

Gohan saw him and was very happy to see him. "Uncle Raditz! You're here!"

The two came up to each other. They were glad that they were safe.

"Where's Bulma?" asked Gohan, his eyes moving about. "I thought she was in the cave."

"She is," Raditz said. "If you go further down the cavern, she put a miniature house at the far end for all of us to stay in."

Gohan thought this was intelligent of her. "Oh really? That's great! I'd love to see what it looks like."

Raditz looked back to Gohan and quickly noticed someone was missing. "Wait. Where's your grandfather, Gohan?"

"Grandpa Bardock said that he needs to take care of something," he said who was now frowning. "He said he sensed some aliens nearby. He told me to leave and make sure that everyone's all right while he takes care of the bad guys."

"How long has he gone?" Raditz was worried.

Gohan was as much troubled as his uncle was. "Way too long for me, but I hope he comes back really soon!"


	17. Next Plan

Episode 62

Next Plan

 **Author's Note: Hello, readers! So, my laptop was experiencing some technical issues and that's why I wasn't able to update much earlier, but now the issue has been resolved, I can start writing again. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks!**

 _Beep, beep!_

Ginyu's scouter suddenly turned on and he picked it up. "Well?" he asked.

"Captain!" Recoome was talking to their leader this time. "We're heading back to Lord Frieza's ship now. And we also took care of Vegeta."

Ginyu smirked. "How is he?"

"Really beaten up and knocked out," responded Recoome. He started to laugh. "The Saiyan Prince has humiliated himself this time."

"Good work," Ginyu said. "Now you two better get back here as quick as you can."

Their conversation ended.

Frieza looked at Ginyu. "Your comrades?"

"Yes, Lord Frieza," Ginyu said. "They just took care of Vegeta and they said he's badly wounded, wounded enough that he'll be too weak to even try to escape from us especially when we start interrogating him."

Frieza felt satisfied. "Unlike my right-hand men, the Ginyu Force is proving themselves to be a competent, elite force of mine."

Speaking of right-hand men, Ginyu, Jeice, and Guldo wondered where Zarbon and Dodoria were.

Frieza scoffed. "We've lost communication. I can assume that those two had failed me. Whatever. I will not waste time on someone who's not fit to serve me after all."

Back in the cave where Bulma, her friends, and the rescued Namekian took refuge for a while, they went ahead to eat lunch while anxiously waiting for Bardock's return.

Gohan was trying to eat, but he could not. He felt he lost his appetite.

Krillin noticed this and tried to reassure him, "Don't worry too much about your grandfather, Gohan. He'll come back in no time. Remember, he's just like your father; both strong and skillful in battle!"

The half-Saiyan struggled to smile. "Thanks, Krillin."

Bulma handed the young boy some apple juice. "It would help if you eat a little bit, Gohan. It's useless to go on an adventure with an empty stomach."

He seemed to have agreed with her. "I guess," finally, Gohan began to take some of his lunch. It was at that moment he realized he was really hungry. Soon, he gobbled down his food, now enjoying Bulma's sweet cooking.

Bulma then grabbed some dessert from the fridge. With her sliced cake on a plate, she sat down with her friends and continued to eat.

Raditz was taking quick bites of his food while maintaining proper table manners. Soon, he noticed Elder Moori as well as Dende and Cargo simply drinking their water, but they did not bother to touch their food. Elder Moori tried a bit of his dish though, out of respect, but to him, it was too foreign.

Krillin noticed the Namekians' display of taciturn demeanors."I know it's very hard, but you need to eat to get your strengths back."

Bulma immediately took this as an insult to her cooking. She threw her piece of cake at Krillin's face. "WHAT?! You're saying that my food isn't very good? Can't you at least show your appreciation for once?!"

Krillin flapped his arms and tried to explain himself. "Wait, Bulma! I wasn't talking about the food!"

Bulma angrily stomped her foot on the floor. "Ooh, I feel like killing you guys!"

He tried to calm her down. "Gosh, Bulma. It's not a heck of a deal."

Gohan began to laugh happily since he found this to be amusing.

"It's not that funny, Gohan, when you're in my situation!" Krillin scolded him.

Gohan soon seized his cheerful mirth. He then noticed the Namekians who continued to keep themselves quiet the whole time. Cargo and Dende suddenly looked at Bulma.

Bulma sympathized with the Nameks especially the children. "I'm sure they're really devastated about what happened. I'm really sorry about what happened to you guys."

The children kept quiet.

"But it seems you have something to say to me though," Bulma believed.

Dende looked at her again. "Nothing. It's just that we've never seen an Earthling before…"

"But you look really pretty," Cargo complimented.

Bulma was very flattered, she placed a hand on her cheek. "Aww, thank you! You guys are so cute!"

Krillin then tried to convince the Namekians one more time. "You guys should try out the food. It would really help to keep your strengths up."

Elder Moori looked up this time and smiled. "I'm sorry, but Namekians only need water in our diet to survive."

The Z-warriors were surprised.

"Really?" asked Krillin who was mind-blown by this fact.

"But you just ate bits of your dish," Bulma mentioned. "I'm sure the flavor is good, huh?"

"Well, it's…different," was all Moori could compliment on her cooking.

But a thought came to Krillin. "Wait a second, but I thought you _did_ eat food. I mean, I noticed fields of vegetables growing at your village."

Dende explained what those "vegetables" were. "The fields you saw were 'Ajissa plants.'"

Krillin had never heard of this type of plant before nor did anyone.

"Uh…Ajino-what now?" asked Krillin.

"Well," Dende began to explain, "the wisest and most knowledgeable Namekian told us how our planet was once a beautiful place than it is today."

Bulma nodded. "Yes, we've heard about that."

Elder Moori quickly remembered what the Grand Elder told them. "I have lived through those days. I remember," a smile appeared on his wrinkled face as nostalgia overcame him. "Our home used to be filled with abundant forests. Flowers bloomed everywhere. Oceans were as clear as day and freshwater streams were clean enough to be drunk from. One could breathe in the morning air and feel at utmost serenity. And these plants we told you, the Ajissa ones, sprouted everywhere and this gave beauty and life to our planet."

Suddenly, he put his head down as sadness quickly filled his heart. "But one day, something changed in our atmosphere unexpectedly, we never foresaw it. Massive storms, droughts, heavy winds, all these terrible conditions ruptured the stability of our planet and since then, all trees and lands fell apart. Many of our people did not survive. Everything was dull and could barely support any plant life. Our animals, fishes, and birds were close to the brink of extinction."

Everyone looked at the Namekians, feeling sorry for what happened to them.

Cargo then sadly said, "Even though Dende and I were not born at that time when it happened, it hurts us and the rest of our friends to know that this is not what our planet's supposed to be like. It's hard to have fun and play outside when the air becomes too polluted, it can make us really sick."

"But the elders remembered how Ajissa plants brought beauty to our whole world," Dende now said, "so they started to plant more of them and hoped someday, our home will be beautiful again. Our environment can adapt again with the changes and improve."

Elder Moori then brought up, "Just recently, a group of space travelers who belong to a volunteer organization, that help planets in dire conditions, visited this planet five years ago. They tried to help us restore our planet by giving us these genetically modified Ajissa plants."

"Any luck with them?" asked Bulma.

"Some grew, some didn't. I suspect that the climate change has affected our soil, too," Elder Moori sighed. "It's taking too long for them grow."

Raditz became curious about these space travelers and asked the elder if they were connected with their people somehow. Surely, they wouldn't visit a planet randomly and start helping them out.

"They were very generous people," Elder Moori said. "We've never heard of their organization, but they gave all the supplies they could offer to help us out. But since they left, we've never heard from them ever again. It's strange…"

Indeed, this was very strange; almost suspicious in a way, Raditz was convinced this was the case. He was quite surprised that the Namekians had trusted these space travelers too easily, but during that time, they were suffering and were in desperate need for help.

"I'm so sorry," Bulma expressed. "If only there's something we could do…"

Raditz suddenly stated, "We have to rid of the evil forces first that are terrorizing this planet."

They rest grew anxious.

"What?" Bulma asked, "but it's not gonna be that easy, Raditz. Besides, didn't you guys just tell me not too long ago about this Frieza and his father, and they nearly got you and Krillin? They sound dangerously strong."

Krillin put his head down and gave some thought to this. "Bulma's right. Even if we wipe out all of the insignificant enemies, we're still left with Frieza, his dad, and also Vegeta. I mean, are we actually that ready to face them? No way!"

"Maybe we should do is to just take one DragonBall at a time without them spotting us," Bulma tried to suggest. "It should keep them busy and stop harming the rest of your people," she then looked at Moori and the Namekian children.

Gohan shook his head. "No! That's not enough. They will not stop looking for the DragonBalls. They'll kill every Namek in this planet until they find all seven of them. That means…maybe even us, too."

"Oh no…," Cargo and Dende almost cried.

Elder Moori kept quiet with a saddened look.

"Face it," Krillin told them the painful truth. "We're outclassed! If we can't get stronger anytime soon, our enemies will still have all the DragonBalls before we know it! I hate to say this, but at this rate, this planet…will soon give in to evil fate."

Cargo refused to believe this. "Don't say that! I don't want our friends to die!"

"Me, too!" Dende joined in. "I think you guys are only hope," he stared at the Z-fighters, remembering the amount of fighting potential they carried. "We can't leave our home like this. You need to help us somehow. We need to do something!"

Elder Moori tried to calm down the children, yet he also concurred with what they said.

Raditz was listening to their every word. There was far too much risk to take, but they must remind themselves that their friends in the afterlife and all the Namekians were counting on them to set things right. If they gave in now to the darkness, they will only let their enemies win. There might be no more chance for them in the future.

"Guys…stop, listen!" Raditz had to raise his voice to seize their worries, doubts, and just the talking all at once. Everyone became silent and wondered what was in his mind.

He had a serious expression. "We can't turn back; not at this time. One way or another, we _must_ face those tyrants and defeat them somehow."

"But how?" asked Gohan quietly. "I don't even know if we're strong enough to beat them…"

In Frieza's ship, a guard came to Frieza and announced that Burter and Recoome had arrived along with the injured Vegeta.

Frieza turned around and smirked. "Good. I'll meet them at front. The three of you, stay here," he told Ginyu, Jeice, and Guldo.

Frieza then met up with Recoome and Burter outside of his ship.

Once they arrived, they saluted to him. "Lord Frieza!"

"Lord Frieza, see this," Burter said. "We have Vegeta in our hands. He's completely knocked out. He won't bother us for a long time now."

Frieza's vision immediately shifted over to the prince. A Saiyan of royal bloodline who used to heed to his every command had decided to turn against him. Of course, he had since predicted this would happen eventually. He just did not expect it to be at this time, but with all the ominous, tenfold power he carried with him, Vegeta would stand no chance still even if he decides to go against him again.

Frieza started to walk down the stairs. "Hmm…I still need him alive to question him. Get him to the isolation tanks."

"Sir!" Burter and Recoome obeyed.

With Frieza, they went their way to the recovery room. With help from some of Frieza's minions, Vegeta was placed inside a tank with an oxygen mask on his mouth. Vegeta floated in water, his mind completely blank, in a deep sleep.

"Lord Frieza, you're very much right in saying that Vegeta has changed a lot these past years," Burter told him. "Of course, he's still no match for Recoome and me."

"And for the rest of our awesome, superior force," added Recoome.

As the cruel tyrant kept his eyes on Vegeta, his grin soon vanished. Vegeta may pose a problem to him, but there was even a greater problem than this. He may have to change plans in the meantime until he was certain he had wiped out every single obstacle that was out there.

Frieza made his way back to the main interior of the ship. "Come, I have something to discuss with two and to the rest of your crew."

Once all members of the Ginyu Force were in the room along with King Cold, Frieza stood in front of his elite force with a long and grave stare. The Ginyu Force kept still, but was quite nervous. Their master had never been this quiet before and this angry in his life. They could read his emotions quite clearly.

King Cold was the only one in the room walking around, his mind simply thinking of other things.

After Frieza kept the Ginyu Force in long suspense, he finally spoke. "Men, listen up. As you might know, Vegeta and Raditz are on this planet, but they're the least of my worries for now."

Captain Ginyu and his team members seemed surprised. Ginyu then asked, "Is that so, Lord Frieza? What makes you say this, Sire?"

Frieza looked at Guldo for a moment. "One of your comrades found someone in this planet…who should've been destroyed a long time ago."

The Ginyu Force became curious as to who this was, even King Cold who stopped walking to hear more of the details.

Frieza turned his back, focusing his red eyes on the glistening Namekian DragonBalls. "The Saiyans' home planet, as you know, was obliterated two decades ago. And there was this one, wretched pest who was bold enough to try to overthrow me."

Ginyu seemed to know who he was talking about. "Lord Frieza, I think I remember now. You told me about this. He's one of those low-class Saiyans…'Bardock', was it?"

The rest of the Ginyu Force had no idea who this Bardock was though. Apparently, Ginyu was the only one who knew about it.

King Cold seemed to know also. "Bardock…hmm, he was the one who tried to stop you from destroying Planet Vegeta, right?"

"That's right," Frieza said. "I thought I wiped him out along with the rest of the monkey trash. Insignificant he was, but the man you saw, Guldo, the one with the scar and red bandanna, that's Bardock himself."

They became surprised and almost shocked.

"That's impossible!" Guldo exclaimed.

"No Saiyan could ever survive your attacks, Lord Frieza!" Jeice exclaimed.

Suddenly, Frieza became dead silent once again, and they all became nervous if they said something wrong. The galactic overlord kept his temper in check, but one could say it could explode at any moment if it were to be triggered any further.

Frieza turned around and faced them. He had a new course of action in mind and for now, he believed this was the right decision to make. "There'll be a change in plans. I realize that if I let these worthless Saiyans live, they'll just get in my way. I could never have eternal life if someone constantly tries to stop me from fulfilling it. So for now, I want you all of you to concentrate on your new mission and kill every, single living creature out including Bardock. This time, make sure he's dead."

The Ginyu Force began to mutter amongst each other while Ginyu had to say to him, "But Lord Frieza, what about the rest Namekians? The village elders? And the last two DragonBalls? Shouldn't we-?"

"Worry about the last two later," Frieza interrupted firmly. "With five in my possession still, I will always have the advantage. Besides, I believe I've captured enough Namekians to make them still do my biddings once I take over their planet for good. And I believe five elders are enough to summon the dragon for me. I don't need all of them."

The Ginyu Force, though were slightly unsure about Frieza's new decision, must obey him no matter what. They could only stand firm and salute to him. "Yes, Sir!" they replied.

King Cold had a quiet expression on his face. The truth was he did not seem to approve his son's change of plans. In fact, he may even think it was reckless. His mind began to think of other things.

"And what will you do to Vegeta, Lord Frieza?" asked Ginyu. "He won't be waking up 'till few days later."

Frieza finally grinned. "Hmph. I'll need to question him first. Get him to spit out all the valuable information I need. When I'm done with him, whether he cooperates or not, he'll get a Death Beam straight to his heart before he knows it."

The Ginyu Force began to snicker and loved their master's way of dealing problems and getting rid of his enemies. This formidable tyrant was the very definition of pure evil.

King Cold continued to stand in silence. He was not celebrating with them or anything rather he was really thinking of other things.

While Frieza and his men had certainly thought that Vegeta will take days before he wakes up after recovering enough from his injuries, they may have overlooked one important aspect about the Saiyans especially from the Saiyan Prince who had the unbreakable willpower and hidden strength to overcome even the direst situations.

In the isolation tank room, two of Frieza's minions named Appule and Orlen were managing Vegeta's vital signs to make sure he will recover, just enough to simply keep his eyes open and answer to Frieza's series of questions before he is immediately executed.

Appule laughed. "Hah! Look at this useless garbage. The Prince of all Saiyans, being so high and mighty, meets his downfall at the end."

"He won't be so high and mighty once he sees Lord Frieza standing right in front of his face," Orlen laughed along with him.

While they busied themselves humiliating the prince, they did not notice that Vegeta's hands suddenly twitched. His mind may be coming to a state of consciousness already.


	18. Challenges

Episode 63

Challenges

 **Dear readers**

 **Hello, I posted plenty of chapters, so I hope you enjoy these, but for the main battle between the Z-warriors and the Ginyu Force, you would have to wait for me to update again, which I hope it won't take too long.**

 **It's final exams week at my university, so I've been very busy lately. While writing these chapters, my mind is still/was in studying mode, thinking about physics, microbiology, and all that, so I apologize in advance for any undetected grammar mistakes and perhaps for the slight lack of creativity in my words in general (it's hard to write poetically nowadays when you've written so many scientific papers using plenty of technical terms, hah, hah).**

 **I would also like to apologize for completely forgetting the amount of time has passed between when Goku departed from Earth and when Goku arrives to face the Ginyu Force. You would find that the events happening in these chapters, everything seems to be going so fast…so please just use your imagination and decide for yourself how many days/hours have passed during the Z-warriors' stay in Namek as you read through these chapters. For me, the accuracy of time here just really slipped from my mind. But I do like to focus more on the battle between the Z-warriors and the Ginyu Force, which is more important to me now. Chapters for these will be posted soon!**

 **Thank you for reading this lengthy author's note. Again, I hope you enjoy reading these!**

The Z-warriors pondered anxiously on how they should go about their next plan. They were really trying to think of a way on how to become stronger, so they can face up to their enemies and save this planet.

Gohan said to the Namekians, "We really need to use your DragonBalls as soon as possible, so we can wish our friend, Piccolo, back to life. And if Piccolo comes back, Mr. Kami will be brought back to life, too, and the DragonBalls from our home planet can be used again. So, please, can you also help us?"

"I think I understand now," Cargo said.

"Yeah, so you guys have another set of DragonBalls back home," Dende said. "Your world must have been terrorized by these evil men, too. Then, we definitely need to stay and fight them!"

Elder Moori finally thought of a brilliant idea. "Yes, it's about time we stand up to these evil forces to rid of them for good. You guys said that you need to get stronger; therefore, we should take you to our Grand Elder, the Eldest Namek in our planet."

"Eldest Namek?" Raditz, Bulma, Gohan, and Krillin asked in unison.

"Oh right!" Cargo exclaimed. "The Eldest Namek can definitely help us!"

"…but how?" Raditz asked the Namekians with slight doubt.

"He's one of the few survivors of that terrible storm we went through in the past," Elder Moori explained. "He's the wisest and most knowledgeable of all Namekians. He's also the creator of the DragonBalls."

"The creator?" asked Krillin. "Now that makes a lot of sense."

"We're also all his children," Dende told him. "I, myself, am his 108th child."

Bulma was surprised to hear that. She had to ask him, "Woah, really? How could your father have a child all by himself?"

Dende was puzzled by her question. "What do you mean 'how'? He spits eggs from his mouth, of course."

Raditz reacted with a look of disgust from his face, but he turned his head away to hide his expression.

Bulma laughed nervously. "Oh, right! Silly me. So your Eldest Namek is a female, just like one of those queen bees and ants, if that makes sense?"

Dende was more confused than ever. "No, not really."

Bulma tried to explain herself again. "Well, there're two genders. A male and a female! Therefore, you have brothers and sisters? Siblings?"

Dende cannot get her at all. "Well, we do call them "brother" sometimes, just out of respect, but I'm not sure where you're getting at."

Bulma's eyes opened wide. "Can you believe it? There are no males and females. They're just…well, that! I'm sure glad I'm not a Namek. Talk about boring."

Dende tilted his head to the side while Cargo and Elder Moori had no comment on what she said.

Krillin gave a look. "Well, anyway…so, Elder Moori, this Grand Elder of yours, how can he help us again?"

"Oh, yes," Elder Moori cleared his throat. "He has many extraordinary abilities and one of them is the ability to release one's latent powers."

The Z-fighters were very interested to hear this.

"Powers?" asked Krillin and stared at his palms for a moment.

"You mean, he can help us bring out any hidden strengths that may be sleeping inside of us?" asked Raditz for further clarification.

Moori nodded his head. "That's exactly right, Mr. Raditz. It looks like you and your friend still have some energy inside you that can be brought out. I'm not sure if it will be enough though."

"Well, it's better than nothing at all," Krillin made a good point.

"We must make haste then," Elder Moori insisted. "I must tell you this, but the Eldest Namekian also possesses the last DragonBall. It is wise that it be kept safe from unfriendly souls or else, this Frieza and his men will definitely come looking for it."

"Including Vegeta," Krillin had to say.

Raditz looked at the village elder for a moment. "Are you suggesting that we should take the last DragonBall?"

"And hide it," added Moori. He then put another frown. "Our Eldest Namekian may be wise, but he has become frail and weak, he could hardly move from his chambers. He's also sick; thus, he is very vulnerable to any unwelcomed intruder out there…"

The Z-fighters felt very sorry to hear this.

"He's sick?" asked Gohan with a look of sympathy. "Is someone taking care of him?"

"Yes, his only guardian who happens to be the strongest Namekian warrior alive on this planet," Moori answered him, looking into the boy's fretful eyes. "His name is Nail and maybe he's the only one who can go against Frieza and his men, or at least hinder them for a good while."

"Really?" Krillin hoped this was true.

"Nail is one of our best friends and he has always protected the Grand Elder ever since he made him guardian!" Cargo exclaimed. "I think he can beat those evil aliens no sweat."

"Yeah!" agreed Dende. "I don't doubt his strength at all. Aside from you guys, Nail is also powerful!"

Krillin then stood up from his seat. "Well, what are we waiting for? We need to leave now and have the Eldest Namekian bring all our powers out."

Gohan though stopped him for a moment. "Wait a minute, Krillin. We should wait for Grandpa Bardock first. My grandpa has a lot of power in him. I'm sure that if he brings that out, then we may just get really lucky and win!" the half-Saiyan was very positive.

Krillin understood him and did not doubt his words at all. Bardock was just like Goku and the monk warrior had convinced himself since the beginning that the two were so alike. They held the same, amazing strengths, which meant Bardock will be a great help to them once they face those monstrous tyrants.

"Yeah, we should wait for your grandfather. Do you think he's here now?" asked Krillin.

"I'll go check," Gohan stood up from his seat and immediately ran out of the door and out of the cave to wait for his grandfather's return.

Raditz stood up as well and followed his nephew. "I'll keep an eye on him."

Outside, Gohan stared at the skies, but there was no sign of Bardock yet. He gave a disappointed look and felt worried again.

Raditz emerged from the cave and reassured his nephew, "Just be patient, Gohan. He'll get here soon."

The Z-warriors on Planet Namek were not the only ones who were preparing themselves for any major encounters. Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, and Tien were also preparing themselves for the future if they must be called for battle. First, they needed to pass a series of tests from King Kai before they could learn from the master himself.

As King Kai had said before, they would need to pass his joke contest first. Yamcha and Chiaotzu were proving themselves to be quite the comedian, but Tien was having a difficult time impressing King Kai. King Kai would rather tell jokes to a wall than hear someone who could not make even a cheesy joke. Piccolo, however, was finding this test to be senseless and just a waste of his time. He decided to just sit in the sidelines and make use of his time by meditating until King Kai could actually get to the real deal of their training.

"This is ridiculous!" Tien complained. "I can't possibly do this. There's no way I can move on to King Kai's training now."

"Don't give up now, Tien!" Chiaotzu encouraged him.

Yamcha came up to him. "Here, try this one," he murmured something to his ear.

Tien heard him, but he did not laugh. "Are you sure it's gonna work? It doesn't sound funny to me at all."

"Trust me. He'll laugh at that joke, I bet," Yamcha was confident.

Tien stood up straight and stood in front King Kai.

King Kai saw him and yawned. "Aah! Oh, back for more, I see, but what makes you think you're gonna succeed this time? Hate to break it to you, kid, but you're just wasting your time here."

Tien felt irritated to hear that. He clenched his hands and told him, "This time, for sure, I'm going to make you laugh, King Kai. Now, here it goes! Listen because I'll not repeat this again."

"Of course you won't repeat it 'cause it's another joke that won't make me laugh again!" King Kai then suddenly laughed to himself, thinking his statement was hilarious. "Hah, hah! I crack myself up sometimes!"

Tien was more annoyed than ever. He had to say, "Oh yeah? Then hear this: 'You can tune a piano…but you can't tuna fish'!"

King Kai immediately stopped laughing and stared at Tien for a moment. The kinds of jokes he loved the most were pun jokes and so, after hearing this clever joke from him, he cannot help but laugh now. He tried to hold his breath, but he rolled on the ground, laughing hysterically and he felt he cannot stop.

A triumphant smile spread across Tien's face. "All right, I did it!"

Yamcha made a proud fist. "Yeah! Way to go, old buddy."

"I knew you can do it!" Chiaotzu cheered.

Piccolo saw the achievement Tien had made, but to him, it was almost like watching a kid's show. "How pathetic."

King Kai fixed his glasses. After laughing so hard, he took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead with it. "Okay, that's a good one. Now, it's time for your real training to begin. At first, it might be hard for wimps. Hah, hah!"

He was laughing once again, but Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu could not get him this time.

King Kai realized no one was reacting to his joke. He lectured them a bit. "Come on now. I won't train anyone without laughing with me. It's a good joke, you see. Now, laugh!"

Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Tien then pretended to laugh and giggle, but were still confused.

King Kai gave a thumps-up. "Great! Now, here's your next test. Oh, Bubbles!"

Bubbles responded to his owner's call. He came up to the Z-fighters and started to make monkey sounds.

"Your first task is to catch Bubbles," explained King Kai.

Yamcha gave a look of disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

King Kai shook his head. "Nope. It took Goku almost three weeks to catch Bubbles on his own."

Yamcha and Chiaotzu gasped. "WHAT?!"

"Three weeks?" Tien could hardly believe it.

Piccolo overheard this and gave a serious look. _"Three weeks to catch a monkey?"_

Chiaotzu slowly raised his hand. "I got a question."

"Yes?" King Kai responded.

"So if we catch Bubbles, then does that mean we get on with the real training?"

"Not quite. You still have to deal with Gregory, then I'll see if you're ready or not."

Everyone understood him. The three warriors were prepared to take on this next task.

"Run like the wind, Bubbles!" King Kai told him.

At full speed, Bubbles ran like the wind. Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu tried to keep up with him, but with this kind of gravity, they were having a hard time moving their legs.

"Darn it! This is harder than I thought!" Yamcha cried out.

King Kai chuckled. They especially looked funny how they were all struggling to move about. When he turned his head to check on Piccolo, he realized he was gone. He tried looking for him, but just when he looked up front, he spotted Piccolo from a distance. He had already captured Bubbles, his hand gripped tightly on the monkey's back.

King Kai was very surprised. "What the? How in the world did you catch him that fast?!"

Piccolo purposely dropped Bubbles on the ground. "Because these exercises you're giving us are nothing but a waste of time! I'm not here to play games. I'm here to get stronger!"

"What do you mean 'us'? You're not participating at all, and you can't catch Bubbles yet! You didn't even pass my joke test. Shame on you. I can't promote you on anything," King Kai scolded him.

While the two were having an argument, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu came back, but already looking exhausted from trying to catch Bubbles.

"I have no time for this silly, old training," continued Piccolo, "for this ridiculous monkey business. I'm here to get some serious training done."

King Kai strangely did not argue back to him and instead, he placed his hands over his mouth as if he was holding back on something. Piccolo noticed his puffed face.

Soon, King Kai laughed hysterically. "Did you just say 'monkey business'? That's a good one! Hah, hah! Very good. You may be promoted to the next training exercise."

Piccolo looked at him in an unfriendly way.

King Kai then encouraged his other students to laugh along with him. "All together now. 'Monkey business.' Hah, hah, hah!"

However, he quickly noticed that nobody was laughing with him. King Kai became irritated this time. "What? You still don't get me? Well, let me tell you something. You need to learn more about the art of joking. Sheesh!"

Yet, in the minds of his students, they thought he was a really, really bad joker.

 _Whoosh!_

In the bellowing winds and out into the open area of Namek, Bardock was hurrying to get back to Gohan and the others. He was almost to his destination. As he continued to take wing, suddenly, another vision passed in his mind. It was another familiar vision with the mysterious elite force. This now appeared to be Ginyu and his teammates.

Bardock shook his head and held his forehead for a moment. "Who _are_ these guys? I've never seen them before…," he then gave a serious expression and assumed, "I bet they're one of Frieza's subordinates…"

As Bardock continued to travel in the skies, he suddenly thought of his youngest son, Goku. He had no idea he was on his way to Namek now, but he knew at the back of his mind that he would need his help soon especially with Frieza on this planet.

As for Goku, he was now working on 75xG. He was pushing himself to the limits by tying his own two feet on the ceiling and doing many sets of sit-ups in an upside-down position. He had been doing this for an hour now, but after his last sit-up, he had to take a short break.

The hardworking Saiyan breathed heavily. "Man, this gravity is torture! I'm surprised I made it this far. Now, just one more set to go!"

Just about he made his next sit-up, suddenly, the rope around his feet loosened and he immediately fell to the floor, right on his forehead.

"OW!" Goku cried out and held his head. Then, there was this slight tear of pain coming out from his left eye. He gave a sheepish smile. "Wow, I'm getting clumsier than I thought! Maybe I'm pushing myself too hard. Heh, heh."

On King Kai's planet, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu continued to struggle to catch Bubbles, but maybe because they had not eaten any lunch yet, which puts them to a disadvantage, slowing them down. King Kai then proposed that they should take a one-hour break and fill their stomachs first. Instantly, the mouths of his students watered. Food, at this time, was a necessity.

After King Kai prepared them lunch and as the three munched away, King Kai went outside to water his garden. As he hummed while watering his flowers, Piccolo, who opted not to join Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu for lunch, decided to confront King Kai instead and criticize him about the flaws of his training, at least in his opinion.

Without having to turn to see who it was, King Kai asked the Namekian, "Is there something you need, Piccolo?"

Piccolo complained again. "How long do you plan on messing around? I told you, I came to this planet to get stronger, not waste my time catching a monkey!"

King Kai apologized. "Nope, sorry. You came to me to ask for my training, so I think it's only fair you do as I say first. You have to pass my training exercises before I promote you to the real training. You have all the time in the afterlife, so it's up to you whether you want to do the exercises or not."

He then plucked a few flowers and held them in front of his face. "If you rather not to, you could always help me with my garden. It's perfect season to be growing flowers at this time!" he snickered again.

Piccolo was getting more irritated by his lecture and by his constant laughter, he grabbed his collar, but King Kai's glasses shone and gave him a look of warning. Piccolo noticed this and had to let go of him.

"Tch…just so you know, King Kai, I _don't_ have enough time," Piccolo told him.

King Kai questioned him immediately. "What do you mean you don't have time? Hey, wait a sec, you're not planning to take on Frieza, do you? I thought you made a promise out of it!"

Inside King Kai's house, it was a very different mood there. Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu were just enjoying stuffing themselves with so much food.

The North Kai noticed that they were not leaving any food for him, however. "Hey, don't eat everything! I gotta eat, too, you know!" he shouted across the window.

Yamcha heard him and held his soup bowl in front of him. "But, King Kai, your cooking's really good. I couldn't get enough of it!"

Their teacher was easily flattered. "Oh, really? Why, thank you! I can cook all kinds of food. In fact, when I was young like you, I actually thought of being a famous chef-wha-? Hey!" he was too busy talking though, he realized his students had drained all of his food. He growled in response.

Chiaotzu, Tien and Yamcha were completely satisfied. "Aah…couldn't eat another bite," they said with contentment.

Piccolo though was even more irritated than King Kai was.

Few minutes later of rest, Yamcha and the rest of his friends were ready to resume training. Yamcha went back into the training grounds. He fixed his blue belt. "Now that I'm full of energy, you're in big trouble, ape face."

"Hey. Don't call me ape face. I'm not that ugly!" scolded King Kai, thinking Yamcha was talking about him.

Yamcha clarified, "I'm not talking about you, King Kai. It's him I want."

Bubbles was taking a break himself and had just finished eating a banana. He then looked at Yamcha and mocked him. "Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

Piccolo isolated himself from the rest again. Before going back to his meditation, he drank some water from a bottle.

"Monkey!" Yamcha shouted and went to get Bubbles. Bubbles sprinted and ran away from him, but since Yamcha had been fully energized thanks to the food he ate, he was already close to catching Bubbles after all.

Yamcha tried to maintain a safe breathing pattern. Soon, he leaped in mid-air and successfully caught Bubbles by his feet. "Gotcha!"

Bubbles squirmed, trying to get away, but it was too late. He made worried monkey noises.

"All right!" Tien and Chiaotzu cheered.

Yamcha celebrated his accomplishment and he began to dance with Bubbles by swinging him around. "Yeah! I caught the monkey! Yeah!"

King Kai was very surprised to see this. "Wow. Goku took almost three weeks to catch Bubbles, but it only took Yamcha hours. Geez, these guys never fail to impress me…hmm?" he noticed Piccolo. He just remembered he did not bother to eat lunch with them earlier. He asked him if he wanted to eat first.

Piccolo turned his head away. "I'm fine."

It was Tien's turn and he, too, was effectively outsmarting Bubbles. As Bubbles sprinted to the left, Tien teleported in front of the ape. Bubbles panicked while Tien grinned at him. Bubbles tried to dart to the right, but Tien blocked his way again. As the monkey tried to escape once more, Tien quickly grabbed Bubbles' tail.

Chiaotzu cheered. "Hooray for Tien!"

"Yeah, we're getting somewhere now!" Yamcha said.

It was Chiaotzu's turn and in just minutes' time, he was able to catch Bubbles also. "I caught Bubbles! Yay!" Chiaotzu yelled with joy once he was able to accomplish this task. Then, both he and Bubbles lifted each other up in mid-air to celebrate their little accomplishment.

"And even Chiaotzu caught Bubbles," said King Kai. He placed his hands behind his back. "Now that's what I call a major improvement."

Piccolo clearly saw what his companions had accomplished, but saw little reason, such insignificance behind these training exercises. He stood up and confronted King Kai again. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? I only come here to get stronger and to do that, I need to fight somebody stronger than me. And they're not!"

"Oh really?" asked King Kai, turning his head towards him for a moment. "What makes you think they're much weaker? You haven't tested out their strengths yet, have you?"

Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu then came up to King Kai, ready to take on their last training exercise.

King Kai laughed softly. "All right, here's your next task. Oh Gregory!" he called out.

 _POP!_

And out from a bubble, Gregory appeared. "Hi, everyone. The name's Gregory!"

"Now here's what you need to do," King Kai took out a steel hammer.

Gregory explained the rules. "This exercise is pretty simple. Take this hammer, try to hit me with it, and you'll win! But don't go easy on me, 'cause I'm not gonna go easy on you. Now who wants to take a swing at it first?"

Yamcha stepped in, being very confident of himself again. "Let me have go."

King Kai passed the hammer to Yamcha, but the moment he caught it, he was suddenly dragged to the ground due to the heavy weight of it. "WHA-!"

 _THUMP!_

Yamcha shook his head. "How heavy is this? It's like carrying an anvil!"

Gregory shook his head. "Tch, tch. Excuses, excuses."

Yamcha was offended easily. "Why you! I'm gonna get you!"

Yamcha stood up with the heavy hammer on his hand. He was ready to take a good swing at the cricket.

"See ya!" but after a second later, Gregory flew right passed Yamcha.

Yamcha did not even notice how fast he went until the cricke stopped again. "Huh?" he turned around to find Gregory floating behind him already.

"Too slow, sucker," Gregory annoyed him again.

Yamcha barked at him. "Get back here!"

Gregory soared again without even have to try. Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha now must deal with this lightning-fast insect.

King Kai turned to Piccolo and asked him, "Why not you give it a try?"

Piccolo immediately turned around and walked away. "Image training is more important now than swinging a hammer at a cricket."

King Kai smirked. "Okay, as you wish."

In outer space, Goku was now on the floor, doing many sets of sit-ups. He was perspiring greatly. He bit his lips and the veins on his muscles became visible every time he did a full repetition.

Goku needed to get stronger somehow. His level of gravity was set to 85xG already, but because of his persistence and self-motivation, he was getting used to it very fast. He just hoped his individualized training will strengthen him and prepare him for the obstacles he would soon face when he arrives on Namek.

He remembered King Kai's warning him about Frieza and his father, that he should never go near them no matter what the costs were. It was clear that his teacher had known or perhaps even witnessed the mighty wrath of these two beings. Goku would just have to find out what the real deal is when he gets to Namek.

As soon as Goku finished his third set, suddenly, he heard a voice coming from the ship's speakers.

 _"Goku, are you there? Can you hear me? I'm trying to see if the communicator is working,"_ said that voice.

Goku opened an eye and asked, "H-huh? Is that you…Dr. Briefs?" he asked while struggling to do another sit-up.

A television then rolled down in front of Goku and when the monitor turned on, there was Dr. Briefs along with Puar and Oolong who had been meaning to see him.

"Huh?" Goku took a quick break. A smile then spread across his face. "Oh, hey, it's you guys! Wow! We can actually video-chat in space? But we're practically many planets apart!"

"Yeah, of course," Dr. Briefs laughed. "I may be old, but my brain never stops thinking of new inventions. Besides, we need to communicate somehow and make sure you'll get back home safely."

"Thanks, Doc," Goku said. He then gave a wave. "What's up, Oolong, Puar? How are you guys doing?"

"Goku!" Puar was very happy to see him. "You're looking well!"

Oolong crossed his arms. "We were about to greet you back on Earth until you suddenly took off. You need to let your friends know first that you're leaving!"

Goku apologized. "Sorry about that. I was in a hurry. It kinda slipped from my mind," he laughed a little.

Dr. Briefs looked closer at the monitor. "My, you're still training, Goku? Where are you now in terms of gravity?"

"I'll soon bump it up to 90xG," Goku told him. "I'm surprised I can get used to this level of gravity fast. I guess King Kai's training had really helped me and not to mention, the Senzu Bean I took helped, too. It took me a while to get to the gravity adjusted though. Sometimes, I feel sleepy at the most inconvenient times when I'm supposed to train and all that."

"I told you we should've installed the café cappuccino machine," Dr. Briefs mentioned. "It would indeed keep you awake, Goku."

Puar seemed to agree with him. "Yeah, coffee helps wake up nerves!"

"Master Roshi drinks coffee at least three times every morning, maybe even more," Oolong chuckled.

Goku laughed again. "Hah, hah! I know, but I can live without it. I'd rather drink milk or orange juice in the morning."

"Oh, by the way, Goku," Dr. Briefs now remembered something very important. "Right after you left Earth, Bulma called me up and told me that she found a shortcut to Namek."

"Really?" Goku stood up. "Where is it then? It'll surely get me to Namek faster than this route I'm taking; most likely less than six days, right?"

Dr. Briefs took out a clipboard from his desk and there was a sticky note on it where he wrote down the coordinates for this shortcut. "It will. It took Bulma and the others only ten days to Namek when they took this shortcut, but considering your ship is _way_ faster than theirs, you can get there much, much earlier! You might as well take that shortcut now."

Goku went over to the controls. "Okay, so what's this shortcut?"

"Hold on," Dr. Briefs adjusted his glasses. "Let's see…aah, there we go. It's 'K5162.'"

Goku punched in the coordinates and once he did, the screen on the device re-calculated its distance and the ship change its direction slightly. Goku felt a slight pull from this adjustment. His eyes watched as the blinking dot on his screen, the dot which represents his spaceship, taking a different route.

"Awesome!" Goku exclaimed. "Thanks a lot, Dr. Briefs. Now I have to finish my training extra fast before I get there!"

"Don't push yourself too much though or your training might do you more harm than good," Dr. Briefs advised him.

"Don't worry, I can manage," Goku reassured him.

"I'm surprised you never get tired of training, Goku," remarked Oolong.

"Yeah, no kidding," agreed Puar.

Goku looked at them. "You should know me by now, guys. It's the only way to get stronger if I want to face powerful opponents out there," he gave a determined smile.

Immediately, he resumed training.

On Namek, Bardock had finally arrived at their hideout. From a distance, he spotted Raditz who was practicing with Gohan outside the cave. They were too busy training that they had not noticed Bardock who just landed and was now standing behind them.

Bardock gave a small grin.

Gohan was in mid-air, rapidly doing a set of punches. At the end, he was about to throw his strongest one yet, but Raditz evaded it and got behind his nephew. Gohan's fist still cut the air, but only to realize a second later his uncle was already gone. His fist instead was caught by Bardock.

"Huh?" Gohan took a while to see who this person was suddenly standing right in front of him.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing those punches," Bardock told him who continued to grin.

Gohan recognized him. He was very glad and thankful to see him all right. "Grandpa, you're back!" he cheered, holding his arm excitedly.

Raditz also saw his father and smiled, feeling very relieved from the inside. Of course, why should he worry about his own father in the first place? He can survive any situation out there, he believed.

As soon as Gohan let go of his grandfather's arm, Bardock told him, "You guys shouldn't be practicing here. Someone might bound to find us."

"Actually," Raditz interrupted him, "we may need to leave right now, Father."

"Why?" Bardock asked, a little confused.

"It's a long story," Raditz told him whose expression became serious, "but we actually found a way to get ourselves stronger without having to do any intensive training."

"You have?" Bardock asked if he could elaborate more on that.

Raditz nodded. "It should help us face our enemies that are currently terrorizing this planet."

From the cave, out came Krillin who heard Bardock's voice earlier. "Hey, Bardock! You're back!" he waved at him.

Bardock turned around and saw him, but he also noticed another creature who seemed to be different from the rest of them. For a while, Bardock went back inside the hideout. He was introduced to Elder Moori, Cargo, and Dende while he was told about their situation and their encounters with the terrible galactic overlord. The Z-fighters then gathered around the kitchen table to talk about what Raditz and Krillin had discovered in their travels as well as about the Eldest Namekian and the extraordinary powers he possessed. Once Bardock was given all the details, he felt more pressure and strain on him.

Everyone was standing up while Bardock was the only one sitting down, his arms against the surface of the table, his hand rested on his forehead. He continued to listen to Krillin and his son as they talked. While they conversed, Bulma brought a glass of water for Bardock to drink to help ease his mind, but Bardock had only taken a few sips out of it.

"We can't waste any more time," Krillin said. "We have to get those DragonBalls as soon as we can and save the rest of the Namekians in this planet. It's risky, but what other choice do we have? And running away is not an option now…and to think I suggested this idea before. Heh, heh."

Bardock released his hand from his forehead. He stared at Raditz. "…so, Frieza is definitely here?"

"And his father," Raditz repeated himself. "They're enslaving every Namekian they could find. They're also here for the DragonBalls so that Frieza could get his wish…and that's immortality."

Bardock turned his head away. As nervous he was, he was also angry. The visions he received about these two tyrants were unfolding right before his eyes. "That monster…he doesn't know when to stop, doesn't he?" he whispered to himself.

Elder Moori, with Dende and Cargo standing next to him, spoke. "It's best if we leave now and head to the Eldest Namekian as soon as possible. For now, you are the only warriors who can stand up to the wrath of this Frieza and his men. We, Namekians, are nowhere near their levels, but the least we can do is to help bring your hidden powers out."

Bardock stood up from his chair. "Let's go then, before it's too late."

Meanwhile, in Frieza's ship, Frieza's recruits were making preparations before the Ginyu Force begins their new given mission. In the meantime, the Ginyu Force was taking a small break until they receive a word from Frieza that it's time for them to go. Jeice, Recoome, and Guldo were inside a lounge room, relaxing themselves. Burter just came in with a bunch of candies and chocolate bars in his hands.

"All right, I'm stoked to see this, mate," Jeice immediately grabbed a chocolate bar and began to eat it. He then took off his scouter and placed it on a table, which also had Recoome's scouter on it.

Soon, their leader, Captain Ginyu, came in the room and said with a smile, "Hey, you're eating all of those? Save some for me especially for your leader!"

"Don't worry, Captain. There's plenty enough for everyone here!" Recoome exclaimed.

Ginyu noticed the two scouters, which belonged to Recoome and Jeice, lying on the small table and he was not pleased to see this. "Hey, whose scouters are those? You must wear them at all times before something bad happens to them."

"Eh? Like what? Explodes by itself?" Guldo asked, turning around. "Get lost or something?"

"You know perfectly well why you need to always keep them with you," Ginyu reminded. "Those devices are very, very valuable. What if our enemy gets them? _Boom_! They're as good as gone."

"Relax, Capt'in!" Jeice gave a slap on his shoulder. "Nothing will happen to them. Besides, I don't like wearing them all the time. Makes your eye itch after a while."

Recoome was stuffing himself with candies in his mouth. "Trust us, Captain. We'll take care of them."

"Tch! Fine, but you'll soon regret taking them off," Ginyu turned around and left them for a while. He went to Frieza and see if there was any word of command from him.

In the isolation tank room, Appule continued to monitor Vegeta's life signals. Orlen then came in the room and asked about his condition. With anxiety, Appule said that he was holding steady, but still in critical condition. The estimation that they made of him regaining consciousness in a few days, they may be wrong after all and his recovery might take weeks instead.

Orlen slapped himself on the forehead. "Ugh, that stupid Recoome! He just had to hit him hard and now, if Vegeta actually dies, then Lord Frieza will never get the information he wants from the prince."

"That is if he actually holds any info about the DragonBalls in the first place," Appule expressed his opinion. "I'd say that Lord Frieza kills him off now when he has the chance."

Orlen scoffed. "Don't talk like that. Lord Frieza might hear you and he could interpret that as disobeying his orders."

After making further calculations, Appule told Orlen to take over his place for an hour. Appule left while Orlen managed Vegeta's vital signs now. While checking his status, he stared at Vegeta's closed eyes and said with a chortle, "At least I'll have fun seeing Lord Frieza torture you right in front of my eyes. Heh, heh!"

Inside the main interior of the ship, Frieza was speaking to his father more details about his new plan. He was confident that this will stop anyone hindering him from fulfilling his desire now; however, King Cold had only given him an empty look, a look of disapproval.

Frieza did not seem to notice at first. "I was thinking of accompanying my elites, just so I can make sure they'll perform their mission flawlessly. If the illustrious Ginyu Force even fails me someday, I'd have to step in and take matters into my own hands. I'm tired of my men humiliating me left and right."

King Cold had his eyes set on the DragonBalls. He had not said a word at all.

Frieza turned his head and grinned. "You've suddenly become quiet. Did you hear what I said?"

King Cold then turned around. He was now making his way out of the room while saying something finally. "Well, they're your men after all, Frieza. Just hope your new change of plan won't make your main objective too difficult to achieve."

Frieza grinned wider. It was now clear that his father very much doubted him, but he had to let him know, "I know how to uphold my title as ruler of the galaxies, Father. Careful," he lifted his index finger. "Once I gather enough power, I may overthrow _you_ from your throne despite you being my father."

King Cold grinned as well. "You have long ways to go, Frieza. Like I said before, I carry a lot more power than you think, so don't misjudge me."

This time, Frieza's smile slowly disappeared.

At that moment, Ginyu arrived. He first saluted to King Cold and then to his master, Frieza. He asked if it was about time they started on their mission.

Frieza crossed his arms. "Raring to go now, aren't you? In fact, I was just about to give the order. Now, do you understand what you need to do-?"

 _BOOM!_

Suddenly, there was a huge tremble throughout the ship, which caught everyone, even the mighty Frieza and his father, off-guarded. They wondered where that loud, piercing sound just came from. At first, they wondered if it was the Namekians who were trying to escape from the basement by having their Namekian warriors blast their way out of the rooms.

"Huh?!" King Cold tried to maintain his balance.

"What was that?!" cried Ginyu.

As for Recoome, Jeice, Burter, and Guldo, they had to stop eating candy and find out where that explosion came from. They also predicted that explosion must be coming from the Namekians and so, they headed to the ground floor, but once they arrived there, the rooms were still intact, the doors still closed shut. Frieza's minions who were guarding the rooms seemed confused, but they were ordering one another to investigate the source of that explosion.

"What the heck's goin' on?!" Jeice questioned.

"If it didn't come from the Namekians, who could it possibly be?!" Burter asked his comrades.

"I don't know, but we better keep searching!" insisted Guldo.

Just before they turned back, Frieza, King Cold, and Ginyu also came to investigate the base room, but the noise and tremble did not come from here.

Frieza tightened his fists. "What's really going on here?!"

The Namekians, who were kept locked inside their rooms, were frightened and were pondering where that explosion came from. They tried to huddle in one corner as dust and small pebbles fell off the ceiling, which was caused by this sudden quake.

The village elders all gathered in one spot while they kept the Namekian children close to them. The older Namekians shielded the village elders to the best they can.

While everyone was searching and slightly panicking, inside the recovery room, there was medicinal water running from a broken tank. Orlen was suddenly killed as he was lying on the floor, almost incinerated. From that broken tank, a person stepped out of the platform and with his right foot, he crushed Orlen's head.

In the midst of the shadows, there was the merciless Vegeta who had recovered unexpectedly in a short amount of time. How he was able to recuperate so quickly, he was no ordinary Saiyan after all. After coming back from the brink of death, his strength had grown once more. He was dripping wet from the medicinal water he was submerged in, droplets falling from his chin and entire body.

He was the one who made that disturbance not too long ago, sending everyone to a world of confusion and panic.

The Saiyan Prince laughed silently. He then left the room and with his feet, crushed other shards and broken glass that spread everywhere on the floor. He emerged one more time from the shadows with a satisfied, wicked mile on his face.

"You've made a huge mistake, you pathetic fools," Vegeta said. "You've completely forgotten what a Saiyan is really capable of."

He then took this chance to sprint across the hallways to find the DragonBalls. He first looked in the lounge room to see if they were there, but they were not. Instead, he noticed Jeice's and Recoome's scouters. He then decided to destroy them with an energy blast from his hand and the scouters turned into nothing but piles of ashes.

Vegeta grinned even more as he continued his search for the DragonBalls. Not too long, he found the main interior of Frieza's spaceship, which Frieza and his men had now left unguarded, exposing the five glistening DragonBalls to any unwelcomed guest. Anyone could steal them at the moment.

A look of intensity gleamed across Vegeta's eyes while a rush of excitement filled him. He laughed evilly. "I should've known. Frieza and his father can't even anticipate my moves. All their precious DragonBalls are sitting in one spot, ready to be stolen."

The Saiyan Prince then suddenly heard footsteps from a distance, but whoever was coming to the second floor was still far enough to reach him from where he was standing. He took this chance again to distract the tyrants and their recruits.

Vegeta stepped outside of the room once more and with his left hand, he shot another perilous, violent blast, which shattered even more of Frieza's ship, creating more turbulence and fog that can make one cough excessively.

"There it is again!" Burter noticed.

Guldo quickly went back to the second level, but now his vision was blocked due to this filthy fog floating everywhere. He began to cough. "I can't see a thing!"

Frieza became fuming mad. He ordered his elites and his men, "All of you hurry up and find out where's that coming from!"

Ginyu decided to use his scouter to locate any unusually high power levels, but unfortunately, he could not get any signal at the moment.

Vegeta had been rejuvenated in just hours and had returned from the brink of death once again. And now, the Saiyan elite has a wide-open chance of getting the five DragonBalls Frieza had accidentally left behind. Will Vegeta be the one to make his wish for immortality come true after all? Bardock and his companions had now worked out a plan to make themselves stronger, strong enough to face their enemies. The question is will it be enough to face the Ginyu Force and possibly Frieza himself?


	19. Rejuvenated Ultimatum

Episode 64

Rejuvenated Ultimatum

Frieza's ship continued to be in shaking turmoil while everyone was angrily searching for the source of these disturbances and the two explosions that had just occurred.

Frieza, King Cold, and the Ginyu Force hurried upstairs, back to the second floor. They scattered to find out who or what was causing this. Along the hallways, there was Appule who was heading to the isolation tank room. He was shocked to find his companion, Orlen, dead and his head crushed. Appule stood there for a moment. When he looked up and saw the tank broken and shattered as if someone blasted his way out of it, Appule now realized what was going on here.

Frieza happened to come by and saw Appule from a distance. He angrily questioned, "Appule, what in the blazes is going on here?!"

Appule turned to him and immediately said, "Lord Frieza! Vegeta is gone! He's not in the recovery room!"

Frieza stood there for a moment, comprehending this for a moment. His crimson eyes grew wide, his arms began to shake. He just now realized that the one causing this chaos was the Saiyan Prince himself. Not only that, he could be anywhere in this ship.

Frieza was almost paralyzed. "No, don't tell me. No…IMPOSSIBLE! He's after the DragonBalls!"

"What?!" Appule exclaimed.

Frieza hurried to the main interior of his ship, the place where he mindlessly had let his DragonBalls be exposed to anyone who might come across them. Unfortunately for the galactic overlord, he may already be minutes too late.

Vegeta had blasted a hole in the window, where all this time he had been throwing the five DragonBalls out of that hole at full force and as far as he can. He was at the last DragonBall. He turned around and glanced one more time behind him as if to give a mocking farewell to the tyrants and their recruits. Finally, he hurled the last DragonBall out of the ship. Immediately, his aura surrounded him as he took off in the skies and left Frieza's spaceship. At full speed, he tracked down the five DragonBalls once more while having a triumphant look on his face, knowing he was one step ahead of them again.

Debris continued to fall and the Namekians still huddled in one corner in their rooms. The room with the five village elders inside, one of the Namekian warriors noticed that the door was slightly damaged, specifically the hinges. He had an idea, thinking it was the perfect chance to somehow escape.

The Namekian warrior charged forward and used his body to knock the door down, but it was no use.

One of the village elders saw this and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get all of us out of here, Elder Tsuno!" cried out the Namekian warrior who decided to try again in knocking the door down.

The Namekians were afraid and refused to escape at first, but they went ahead to seize this chance, hoping they would regain their freedom somehow. The younger, much stronger Namekians then pitched in to help their fellow companion. After much supporting strength from one other, the door finally fell! The Namekians in this room were out.

"Come on!" urged the Namekian warriors.

The village elders began to stand while keeping the Namekian children close to them. The other young adult Namekians went ahead and led the villagers and the children to safety.

The Namekian warriors were about to free their other companions who were still locked in other rooms, but they must deal with Frieza's men first who were still patrolling the base level of the ship. They had their artillery ready whilst saying, "Don't let them get away!"

Frieza's men fired laser beams, but the Namekian warriors took no effort in evading them and then, bringing them to defeat. While half of them busied fighting Frieza's minions, the other half went ahead to free the other Namekians. One by one, the Namekians emerged from their rooms and tried to escape through any exit doors and windows they could find.

Jeice, Recoome, and Guldo hurried to the lounge room to get their scouters, but only to find that they were blown to bits.

"Gah! Our scouters! That blasted Vegeta must've blown them to bits!" Jeice exclaimed.

Recoome stood there, gaped and confused.

Guldo lectured them, "Captain Ginyu was right. You should've kept your scouters, and now look what happened to them! You guys can be so careless sometimes."

"Hey, I ain't having a blue with you at this time. Those are a lot of big words coming from someone who doesn't even wear a scouter!" Jeice spat.

"Well, excuse me for having a big, distracting head!" Guldo said back.

As for Frieza, he arrived at main interior of his ship, but he was already too late. He was shocked at first, and then a rush of unbearable anger seethed in his chest. No matter which way he looked, all five of his DragonBalls were gone. To add more to his rage, a melted hole was at his window and these kinds of damages done to his ship may cause it to malfunction for sure at some point.

Captain Ginyu and Burter came inside the room to inform him that Vegeta was gone, but noticing their master's rage and the lost DragonBalls, they knew Frieza had already witnessed the event that could not be prevented from happening because he was too careless, too reckless. Frieza had completely underestimated Vegeta.

"Lord Frieza?" asked Captain Ginyu.

Frieza was tightening his fists, his eyes of blood color shaking violently. Suddenly, his tail smashed the floor, breaking it with some pieces of it scattering everywhere.

King Cold soon came in and also noticed that the DragonBalls had been stolen. He glanced at his son's face and saw the burning rage in his eyes.

Soon, the rest of the Ginyu Force came in and they, too, saw what happened to the DragonBalls.

Frieza was furiously growling under his breath, but before the tyrant had literally exploded, King Cold stopped him. In fact, he was not worried or frustrated at all. At first, he was just as serious as he was, but a smile slowly reappeared on his face. Frieza saw this and suspected that his father knew something that he did not. Why did he look so calm even at a time like this?

"What are you even smirking about?!" Frieza questioned him. "You're actually glad that the DragonBalls were stolen by that worthless Saiyan?!"

King Cold walked passed him while keeping his eyes staring intently out of the window, where Vegeta had blasted a hole there. "Of course not. I'm just as angry as you are, Frieza, but I try to keep my head cool. Listen to me though. We can't delay. I think I should take over for now and take care of this problem."

"What do you mean?" Frieza continued to question him angrily.

"I'll bring your Ginyu Force with me and take back all those DragonBalls. We'll also find the last two while we're at it," King Cold said. "In the meantime, stay here and keep guard of the ship and the Namekians here."

"Are you trying to order me around, Father? I absolutely hate it you when try to patronize me like that!" Frieza rebuked him.

"This is not the time to argue with me," King Cold stared at him this time. "If we waste any more time, our enemies would make _their_ wish instead."

He smirked again. "You don't want that to happen now, do you? I'll handle this. I'll put things back to the way we expect them to be just like," he snapped his fingers, "that."

"Rrrgh…and how do you expect to find the last two DragonBalls, may I ask?" Frieza growled.

"I know the location of one of them," King Cold mentioned.

The Ginyu Force and Frieza were surprised to hear this.

"What do you mean 'you know'?" asked Frieza, a little confused.

His father chuckled. "It's with the Eldest Namekian in this planet. He's located straight there," he pointed in the northeast direction. "He's basically someone the Nameks pay respects to, maybe including us 'visitors.' After all, he's the one who created the Namekian DragonBalls."

Frieza's suspicions were right all along about his father definitely knowing something that he did not. It only meant his father had been to Namek before, but for what purpose? What mystified him more was that why he did not bother to take over this planet when he came here once? He was mad again. "So you've been to this puny planet before? What were you even doing here in the first place?! And why didn't you seize chance when you had it?!"

King Cold did not reply to him this time, his lips just pulled to a conniving smile.

The Ginyu Force, while listening to the both of them, shifted their focus from King Cold to their master, Frieza. They had nothing to say, really. As for Frieza, he must admit now, he was embarrassed to be acting like this and that he was making all of these humiliating mistakes. He was not being a good role model for being the self-proclaimed ruler of the galaxies. He felt like the decisions he was making now were only backfiring at him; yet this was no time to analyze or try to uphold his pride. He guessed he should let his father take over the mission for now or else, they would all fall back to square one. He just could not stand the way he is acting sometimes, how his father thinks he is still far more superior and clever and how he likes to keep secrets. It always made Frieza think that his father had other selfish plans in mind that he may well resent.

Frieza had calmed down a bit, but the intensity in his eyes remained there. He turned his head towards the Ginyu Force and told them, "Do as he says."

The Ginyu Force obeyed. All of the members then walked towards King Cold and stood behind him.

King Cold turned towards them and gave them the command that they should wait for him outside. One by one, the members of the Frieza's elite force departed and waited for their king outside. Before King Cold had also left, he grabbed his scouter that was kept well-hidden from Vegeta, and it was a red scouter just like Frieza's. He put it around his eye, and just before he departed, Frieza suddenly told him.

"I swear, if all of you are going to take too long just to get back all those DragonBalls, I won't hesitate to kill every last one of you," he stared into his father's eyes, which meant he will subject him to the same fate as he planned to do with the rest of his men, parent or not, should they all fail him.

King Cold grinned evilly and was not fazed by his son's threat. Without another word, he left and met with the Ginyu Force outside. Once they saw him coming, King Cold positioned himself in front and led the way.

Immediately after they left, Appule came inside the room, seemingly tired and still panicking. "Lord Frieza! The Namekians! They're escaping! They were able to get out of their rooms!"

Frieza turned around quickly. "How dare they…," and without another word, he flew right passed Appule and went outside, where the back of his ship was. Indeed, he saw the Namekians, some whom had already escaped. Some were frozen and unsure where to go because of a raging battle that was going on between the Namekian warriors and Frieza's minions. Frieza spotted the five village elders who still kept the children protected in their arms.

"Hyah!" one Namekian fighter landed a powerful punch straight to a minion's face.

"Kyah!" another one took down a Frieza henchman by clasping his hands together and crushing him to the ground.

As the Namekian warriors teamed up to decrease their enemies' numbers, suddenly, one of the minions was deliberately killed by their master himself, and that was Frieza who had stepped in the midst of this battle and decided to take care of this mess.

The Namekian warriors were shocked, but they kept to their fighting stances.

Frieza then threw the henchman that he killed towards the ocean. He then reprimanded the rest of his men whom he decided to spare since he needed an army still to do his biddings and minimal jobs, at least. "Don't tell me all of you can't even handle a group of Nameks with such insignificant power levels. Must I do everything myself?!"

The rest of his henchmen trembled in fear and tried to beg for his mercy, promising that they will deal with the Namekians and make sure they put them back to their places.

"Stop screwing up and start doing things right!" demanded Frieza. He then turned his attention towards the Namekians, "And as for all of you…"

The Namekian fighters were intimidated by his evil-boding appearance, but that did not stop them from facing him themselves. They were determined to liberate their people, even if they had to face possibly the strongest being alive in the galaxies. They headed towards him, at full power.

Frieza stood there with a livid look. One Namekian warrior was about to make his first move at the tyrant, but Frieza, in just the blink of an eye, grabbed his arm and went for a paralyzing punch at his chest, breaking every bone in his body. He immediately fell to the ground, unconscious up until the point of his death. Two more Namekian warriors were able to make a successful hit, but the galactic overlord did not feel any pain at all. He then took one of them down, grabbing his neck and burying him towards the earth. Immediately, he took the other one, damaging him with his armor-like hand and then sweeping him off with his reptile-tail, making him collide to a near-by boulder. All of them were now dead.

The other Namekian warriors began to back away in fear. They had never seen such formidable strength before.

Just before Frieza spoke, suddenly, another one of the Namekian warriors attempted to attack the heartless emperor. Gathering all of his strength, he discharged a shimmering energy beam from both of his hands. As soon it made contact with Frieza, it exploded greatly and illuminated the island they were standing on. The Namekian breathed heavily, wondering if he was able to weaken him somehow, but from the smoke that surrounded the emperor emerged Frieza himself. In rapid speed, he got behind his opponent before he could realize that he was standing right behind him. Using just his left hand, he drove it through the Namekian's stomach, his hand exposed to the other side of his abdomen. The rest of the Namekians were traumatized to see this especially for the children.

Frieza released his hand from the Namekian warrior as he fell to the ground with purple blood pouring from his stomach.

Frieza turned his attention towards the Namekians again, those who did not dare to attack the tyrant. "Shall I continue this bloodbath of mine? Or has the message finally gotten through your heads?"

Elder Tsuno cannot take this anymore. Too many of his fellow people had fallen and had been killed mindlessly. He stepped forward with his walking stick, but he did not attack the tyrant like the rest. There was no way that they could win, but he felt he must make a proposal. Elder Tsuno cried, "Listen, you monster! If your intention is really to just get our DragonBalls, then fine! You can use them and make your wish!"

Frieza reminded him, "You do recall that I also intend to take over your planet, right?"

"But immortality is what you really want, isn't?" he tried to persuade him. "We'll make your wish happen, but you must promise us to leave this planet for good once you have it. Please! We've suffered for far too long! Besides, there're other planets in this universe for you to conquer, other ones that are more useful for your organization, unlike our very weak and frail planet where you could barely find any life."

Frieza kept listening to him. He slowly placed his hands behind his back.

"For you, there's no greater reward than having eternal life," Elder Tsuno continued. "When you get back all our DragonBalls, we'll make your wish happen. And promise us that you'll leave!"

The word "immortality" echoed inside Frieza's mind. Now that he thought about this more, immortality may be the only reason why he came to this planet in the first place. The idea of taking over Planet Namek was an idea that his father came up with and he seemed to agree to. But now, since he was, at the moment, immensely disliking the way his father was trying to control things around here, Frieza felt he should make a decision for this at least.

Frieza began to grin with wickedness. "Okay then. Sounds like a nice proposal…for once, I'm actually agreeing with someone who's a lot inferior to me."

Immediately though, his smile faded. He began to walk back towards the ship whilst ordering his other men, "All of you, clean up this mess and make sure get these Namekians back to their rooms. They won't be released until I get my wish."

The henchmen went to work and began to dispose the Namekian bodies that Frieza killed. The rest of his subordinates began to forcefully push the Namekians back towards Frieza's ship. Another elder came up to Elder Tsuno and asked, "Elder Tsuno, are you really going to do this?"

Tsuno whispered back to his fellow brother. "For now, this is the only decision I can think of. It should keep Frieza from spreading his carnage to our people for a while, at least until someone saves us."

"But _who_ will save us?" asked the other village elder with uncertainty for the future.

Elder Tsuno put his head down and frowned. "I really hope that the Grand Elder is safe and that…Nail has been informed about this chaos somehow."

The Namekians were locked up once more while the children wept in great fear and sorrow.

As King Cold and the Ginyu Force tracked down their stolen DragonBalls, while covering some distances, Captain Ginyu placed a hand on his scouter and already found someone, presumably Vegeta, who was moving away from them.

"Your Majesty, we've located Vegeta!" Ginyu told him. "He's not too far from here. I bet he'll lead us to where the DragonBalls he stole."

King Cold turned on his scouter and indeed, he also found the location of the Saiyan Prince; however, an idea hit him, urging him to stop at place. After coming to a complete halt, so did the rest of the Ginyu Force, wondering why he suddenly stopped.

King Cold told them, "Hold on. Let's not get hasty. Vegeta has all five DragonBalls, but let's wait until he gets all seven."

The Ginyu Force became urprised and they began to mutter amongst themselves.

"But my lord!" Captain Ginyu interrupted. "If Vegeta gets all seven, then you and Lord Frieza may not be able to make your wish."

King Cold turned around and faced him. His tall, broad structure and his sinister appearance made Ginyu and the rest of his crew back off a bit. They felt nervous.

Their king grinned again. "That useless Saiyan won't get his wish. We'll just wait until all seven DragonBalls are collected in one spot, or at least be in close proximity of each other and then, we strike."

The Ginyu Force had no choice but to obey him. All they could do now was to wait for King Cold's signal.

Back in the hideout, the Z-warriors and the Namekians had just come out of the cave. Elder Moori was walking up front and Krillin was beside him, wanting to ask a question.

"Okay, so the place of this Eldest Namekian, you said it's gonna take us days to get there? But I don't think there won't be any time by then to save your planet!" Krillin fretted a little. "There has got to be a faster way to get there."

"Well, flying at full speed can work," Gohan mentioned, "but using up too much of our energies will allow the bad guys detect us."

Raditz said, "He's right. We must keep a low profile still."

Elder Moori then answered, "Don't worry. There _is_ a faster way to get there. Maybe it'll only take us seconds, but this technique I will do exerts much energy, it's hard to keep it subtle."

"Subtle?" asked Gohan.

Moori smiled. "Unfortunately, for my old age, I have to exert more power to make this technique work."

Bardock emerged from the cave. "What's this mode of transportation then?"

"Teleportation," Elder Moori replied.

Krillin smacked his palm on his head. "Oh yeah, duh! Hey, we can actually teleport ourselves there, right? I mean, we know that technique, don't we? We're superhuman after all!"

"But I thought you need to be familiar with a person's energy first in order to get to them," Raditz mentioned.

Krillin thought he made a good point. "…oh yeah, you're right. I mean, we don't even know what the Eldest Namekian looks like, so it'll be difficult to find someone we've never met before."

"Then let me do the honors," Elder Moori said. "It's a risk to take, but we won't have to travel for days and if we explain our situation quickly, our Grand Elder will have your powers unlocked in no time."

Moori then turned to Dende and Cargo who were standing beside Bulma. "My brethren, you two stay here while I escort our heroes to the Grand Elder's place."

"But I really want to go with you!" insisted Dende.

"Me, too! I want to see Nail and Guru!" Cargo said.

"It's too dangerous for young ones out there," Moori then placed his hands on their shoulders. "Don't worry. We'll be back soon."

Dende and Cargo soon complied and they both stayed with Bulma.

Krillin then happened to look at Gohan. A strong warrior he was, he was still very young, but after checking out that determined look on his face, he was reminded that he was half-Saiyan after all. Besides, Gohan may be hiding a lot more potential in him that can be unlocked and can make him even stronger than before. He then nodded to Gohan, asking if he was ready to go. Gohan went with Krillin and Raditz followed afterwards. Bardock was about to join them until all of a sudden, he saw another vision in his head. He stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes shook.

Bulma held Dende's and Cargo's shoulders while telling to her friends, "You guys better get back here as soon as you can!"

"We will, Bulma. Don't worry," Krillin assured her. He then realized Bardock was not with them. He noticed him just standing there with his hand on his forehead.

"Hey, Bardock, you coming with us?" asked Krillin.

Yet, he did not respond. He was distracted and alarmed to be experiencing this sharp pain in his head. In this vision, he saw Frieza and another tyrant, whom he believed to be Frieza's father, and they were standing side-by-side, their sinister auras emitting this dark vibe in the air with flames surrounding them.

Bardock continued to feel this seemingly incessant ache; he gnashed his teeth together, his left hand clenching into a fist.

Bulma released the young Namekians' shoulders and approached him. "Hey, Bardock, is something wrong?"

Raditz and Gohan turned around and were very worried about him. They approached him and asked if he was feeling all right.

Bardock felt the pain getting sharper, he turned around and tried to walk back towards the cave. "I…I think I need to lay down for a moment," suddenly, after he took another step, he felt this uncomfortable jolt in his head. He did not know, but he almost lost balance, his shoulder hitting against the wall of the cave.

"Grandpa!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Bardock!" cried Bulma. She quickly went to him and helped him walk. "Okay, you definitely need to rest. Come on, I'll give you some aspirin."

"I think he needs a more effective medicine than aspirin!" Krillin believed.

Raditz although was the only one who knew the truth behind his headaches. Nevertheless, he quickly walked to his father and took his other arm around his shoulders to help him walk back towards the cave. Elder Moori, Dende, and Cargo were concerned as well. They followed the Z-warriors from behind and stayed in their hideout for a while.

In the living room, Bardock was lying on the couch. He was still awake and he kept his hand on his forehead. He seemed to be in pain still. Gohan, Krillin, and the Namekians were in the kitchen, waiting for Bulma and Raditz to finish treating him. They soon entered the dining room.

"How's Grandpa Bardock?" asked Gohan with a lot of concern. "Is he okay?"

"He's doing fine now," Bulma said with a smile, trying to calm the boy down. "He just needs some rest, that's all. I think he's put a lot of strain on himself from fighting aliens and all that."

Krillin slipped his hands inside the pockets of his orange pants. "Raditz, I hope your father doesn't have a migraine problem or anything. He's not sick, is he?"

"No, he doesn't have any health issues," Raditz told him.

"So, what caused him to have this headache?" Krillin asked who looked slightly confused. "If you remember, he had a similar episode like that when we left Goku to fight Vegeta. Well, the one that we saw back on Earth was kinda severe, but what was really strange is that his headache completely vanished as if it was not there in the first place."

Bulma became curious. "Wait, this happened more than once?"

Gohan agreed with Krillin's reaction. "Yeah, it made us really worried."

Once again, Raditz was the only one who knew the truth. His father can see the future and sometimes, those visions can put him into a state of great pain. Raditz believed his father must have seen a terrible vision earlier, triggering such responses in his mind. In reality, he was even more anxious about what his father saw. Would they all encounter a great peril soon when Frieza and his father meet them, if they happen to find them?

"His headache," Raditz tried to answer Krillin's question earlier, "it just…happens once in a while."

The rest were not convinced that this was the case, but they decided not to speak about it now.

The Z-warriors agreed though that they must stay put for a while until Bardock recovers and can rejoin them in this quest.

While waiting for Bardock to get better, Krillin was struck with a thought. "Hmm, I wonder how Goku's doing out there, as well as Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo in the afterlife. It almost feels like it's been ages since we last heard from them."

Bulma held her arms close to her chest. "You know them, they're warriors. They must be doing a lot of training."

"Yeah," Krillin agreed.

Raditz turned his head to check on his father. He was still lying there, breathing steadily, trying to relax his mind and body, but like his eldest son, he was also anxious about the future.


	20. Honorable Bequest

Episode 65

Honorable Bequest

"Aah!" Gregory suddenly screamed who was still darting left and right, but he was strangely slowing down. In fact, one could see red marks and bruises all over his body, which meant that Tien and Yamcha were successful in being able to hit him with the hammer.

This was yet another vast improvement for the Z-warriors. At first, they were struggling to catch up with Gregory, but after pushing to their limits and their bodies being able to adapt and find new strengths and speeds, Gregory was now the one who was struggling to get away from them.

Meanwhile, King Kai and Bubbles were sleeping inside their house, the North Kai waiting for his students to finish their second task. King Kai slept on his rocking chair while his pet monkey slept beside his master.

It was Chiaotzu's turn to hit Gregory, and the young boy was at an advantage since Gregory had been slowed down thanks to Yamcha and Tien.

Tien encouraged his best friend. "Come on, Chiaotzu. Hit him like you mean it."

Yamcha then announced, "Chiaotzu's now at his stance; about to make his final hit before a homerun!"

Gregory panted, but he tried to make this difficult for Chiaotzu. "Okay then, let's see if you can hit me still. Full speed!" he began to glow vividly and then, he dashed towards Chiaotzu. Chiaotzu though concentrated, not letting anything distract him. Chiaotzu found the right timing and swung his hammer at Gregory.

Gregory tried to stop from getting near him. "AAH!"

"Hyah!" Chiatozyu yelled.

"WAAH!" Gregory screeched and he was hit again. He then accidentally went through the bricked walls of his master's house.

"AAH!" King Kai woke up, startled, and then, was pushed back from his rocking chair when Gregory collided against him. Even Bubbles woke up and panicked a little.

"Oops!" Chiaotzu felt he put too much force on that swing. Immediately, he, Yamcha, and Tien came to check on King Kai. They asked if he was all right.

King Kai held his aching forehead. "Ouch…huh? Gregory? Were they able to hit you?"

Gregory groggily replied. "Nope! They-they didn't hit me at all…ooh…," but then, a huge lump came out from his head, and all the bruises and marks on his body meant that he was struck, many times.

King Kai was surprised, but was more impressed to see this. "Wow. Goku might have caught Gregory faster than he caught Bubbles, but you guys," he looked at Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu, "all three of you accomplished both of these tasks much faster than Goku did!"

Yamcha made a proud fist. "It must mean we're getting stronger then!"

King Kai stood up and wiped the dust from his clothes. "Well, good news for all of you. You're ready to move on to the real training."

Tien was glad to hear this. "Yes, finally!"

Chiaotzu happily laughed while Yamcha was so eager to move on to the next level. "Dude, I've been waiting for this for ages!" Yamcha expressed.

"I like your enthusiasm. Now, let's go outside," instructed King Kai.

Once they were outside, in an open area, at least away from King Kai's house where the Z-warriors won't do any further damage to it, King Kai explained the rules, "Okay, so we're gonna have a brief sparring match. The match ends one of you gives up or if time runs out. Pretty simple, right?"

Suddenly, another figure entered the area and joined King Kai and his students. It was Piccolo whom had been waiting for the real deal of their training. "Count me in," he said who looked like he just came out of nowhere.

"Well, look who it is. You decided to change your mind?" King Kai smiled.

"No need for formalities or see who gets to fight who. I'll take on all three of you," declared Piccolo.

The rest looked at him with wonder.

"Even if there may be ten of you each, you're still no match for me," Piccolo was very confident of himself. Immediately, he positioned to his fighting stance, his white cape flowing with the winds for a moment before it settled on his back again.

Yamcha grunted. He, too, went to his fighting position, his hands gestured like the claws of a fearless wolf. "Let's see then if you can back your words with action!"

Piccolo just stared at him this time.

King Kai though calmed them down. The purpose of this training was to not cause any form of hatred or rivalry amongst them, but to learn from each other's weaknesses and how they can work together to improve on them.

"You guys keep cool," King Kai warned them. "All of you will benefit from this training, but you must keep any friction out of the way or it might cause you more harm than good."

Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu including Piccolo heeded to what he said, but they maintained their serious expressions, their fighting spirits burning within them. The three then surrounded Piccolo in a triangular formation while Piccolo was left in the middle.

King Kai raised his hand. "Ready… set… FIGHT!"

Yamcha and Tien took the initiative. Yamcha ran towards him while Tien leaped in mid-air and about to dive back down to give him a direct attack. Yamcha performed skillful hand techniques, but Piccolo was able to evade them. Tien then took this chance to give a flying sidekick in which Piccolo blocked with his arm. The two then yelled to boost their strengths as they teamed up and attempted to barrage Piccolo with multiple punches and kicks. Once again, Piccolo was avoiding every move until Chiaotzu suddenly grabbed onto his back.

"What?" Piccolo was slightly distracted, but not enough to make his focus waver from fighting Tien and Yamcha.

"Rrrrgh…," Chiaotzu began to glow and spark up a bit, these jolts sending sudden pain all over Piccolo's body.

"Augh!" Piccolo cried out.

Yamcha took this to his advantage as he sent a direct punch to Piccolo's face. Piccolo was shocked to have almost lost his balance. Tien then came in and struck his abdomen along with a turning hook kick to push him a few feet back.

King Kai was enjoying this battle. "Wow, it's like watching a movie almost. Hah, hah!" he snickered again.

Gregory was with them, watching the fight while applying a bag of ice on the lump on his head. He had a stern look. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you."

"HYAH!" both Yamcha and Tien yelled and were about to execute a teamwork blow until Piccolo sensed their incoming attacks. He stretched out his arms and knife-hand struck both of them, but Yamcha stood up quickly and tried to do a sweep kick, but only for Piccolo evade it and tripped him back with a sweep kick of his own. Tien came in and did an explosive, high kick, but the Namekian warrior counterattacked with an elbow strike to his back. Both of the Z-fighters got down on the ground.

Chiaotzu still clung onto Piccolo and was sparking up even more.

"Rrrgh! Now you're mine!" Piccolo extended his left arm and grabbed Chiaotzu. He then used force and buried his body halfway to the ground.

Tien looked up and shouted. "Chiaotzu!"

King Kai calmed his pupil down. "Your friend's fine. He certainly can't die twice. He's just a bit dizzied that's all. He'll be better in one, two, and three."

After the countdown, Chiaotzu began to move his legs and then lifted himself off the ground. "Huh?" he checked his hands and face and realized he was not that hurt. "Hey, I'm okay!" he exclaimed.

Tien was relieved. "Chiaotzu!"

Piccolo can indeed declare his opponents had improved since last time, but the fact they were keeping up with him in battle, the fact that he cannot hinder them that easily, this almost confused him. _"I don't get this. Are they actually stronger than me? Is it all because…of this stupid training they're doing?"_ he referred to King Kai's training exercises of catching Bubbles and hitting Gregory with a hammer.

"Resume the fight!" King Kai suddenly called.

Piccolo realized he was distracted from his though. "What?"

"Kyah!" Yamcha ran to him and sent a punch, but his fingers positioned similarly to a claw strike. He then followed with a turning sidekick. Piccolo dodged his first attack, but was hit by his second. Tien then came in and did multiple hand techniques. Piccolo then suddenly got distracted while Chiaotzu did a head-butt to his face.

Piccolo's head jerked back a little. Then, he noticed Yamcha proceeding to his next attack, going for an elbow strike, but Piccolo was finally able to grasp his incoming move. Out of nowhere though, Tien yelled with strength as he came in and successfully hit Piccolo with a straight punch to his cheek.

Piccolo was pushed back, but he was far from giving up yet. Yamcha attempted to land a blow to his stomach along with a surprising uppercut. Since the Namekian warrior had suddenly lost all his concentration, he couldn't block any more moves and so, he was successfully hit once again.

Piccolo was held in even more pain. He had to hold his aching stomach. He was shocked to have suddenly fallen to his knees. "Gah…! Why you..."

Yamcha then stood normally. "Hmph. What now, Piccolo? Have enough?"

"Woah…that's impressive," King Kai was really amazed. He had always known Piccolo was the strongest amongst Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu went they first settled here, but this battle proved that he may have met his match.

Piccolo looked up and gave Yamcha a smirk. "Don't make me laugh. I'm just getting started," he then decided to get serious for round two. He took off his weighted clothing, so he can move more freely and be able to fight with more swiftness. Yamcha, Piccolo, and Chiaotzu prepared themselves until King Kai interrupted them.

"Stop! That's enough for a sparring match for now. Let's take a break and have a little snack to get your energies back," King Kai suggested.

They immediately stopped fighting except for Piccolo who was still in his battle position. Chiaotzu, Tien, and Yamcha looked at each other and complied with King Kai. King Kai was about to leave and the rest of the Z-fighters caught up with him except for Piccolo who was still confused.

It was strangely silent until King Kai told his students, "How about this joke? What do you call a dog that doesn't bark? I'll tell you. A hot dog!" he snickered and laughed hysterically once more.

"Uh…hah, hah!" Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu pretended to laugh at his jokes even though ninety-five percent of them did not make any sense.

As they made their way towards King Kai's house, Piccolo watched them one more time. He then closed his eyes and snorted, giving a smile afterwards. For once, he was not allowing his pride to get in the way of the truth and his judgment. King Kai was right after all, that his training exercises with Bubbles and Gregory actually had a purpose behind them, and Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu were able to demonstrate this.

At last, Piccolo decided to follow them to fully join their training.

In outer space, Goku was close in reaching his destination and knowing that Planet Namek was just near, he was now taking his training to new heights and boundaries, where he would push himself beyond his limits to somehow reach a new kind of potential.

Goku was finished doing usual drills and now, he was practicing hand techniques, balance, and footwork once more. With grace and swiftness, but also with intense, explosive power, Goku slid his right foot against the damaged floor, due to it undergoing such heavy training, and then, he suddenly jumped in mid-air and gave a dynamic kick, which sliced the air. He put his two feet on the floor and then, he went for a set of rapid punches and fists. After going for an uppercut, he turned around again and did a roundhouse kick followed with a full 360 degrees before executing another attack. He switched again to hand techniques while keeping his momentum up, ensuring he will not make any mistakes in this practice. Once more, he attempted to switch to footwork, but suddenly, he lost friction and slipped, almost falling to the floor.

"Rrrgh!" but Goku was able to get back right to his feet by placing a hand on the ground, lifting himself to the air, and then he dove down while giving a falling axe kick. Immediately, he did a flip and gave another axe kick before going for a strong elbow strike using his right arm. Then, with his left hand, he rapidly did a straight punch with a shockwave coming out of it, which vibrated in the air.

To put a conclusion to this long training session of his, he quickly bent his legs, clasped his hands together, and gathered enough energy to perform one of his techniques. "Kamehameha!" a burst of vigorous energy beam then emerged from his palms. It spun around the gravity room, intending to hit the user himself.

When the energy wave was only a few feet away from him, Goku increased his defense while tensing his muscles and bending his arms to his waist. He yelled and allowed his own attack hit him. An explosion came and then, haze and fog.

Behind the grey fog, Goku was breathing heavily, but he was not injured at all. He kept in that position for a while before relaxing his muscles and nerves.

Goku was silent for a moment and then, he began to smile. He truly believed he had passed this test with flying colors and without a mentor to guide him actually. And so, this was a huge achievement for him. "Wow, and I'm not even that tired. This training may have been tough, but it was well worth it."

He soon felt excited, he can't help but cheer with joy and a sense of triumph. "Yes! I feel great! Whoo! At this rate, I bet I can bump up my Kaioken to ten more times!" he then stared at his hands. They were trembling a bit from exhaustion, but again, it was all worth the effort.

Goku now took a well-deserved break. All this training had benefited him every possible way, but he must keep in mind that he needed to rest also. He set the gravity back to default before doing other things.

He went ahead to take a shower to freshen himself up. After putting on some fresh new clothes, he went to the kitchen grabbed himself a sports drink from the fridge to keep himself hydrated. While walking back to the main interior of his ship, he saw the endless stars and planets going by. All in his mind now was Namek and his family and friends. He hoped that everything was going all right them and that they would all be safe and sound still by the time he arrives.

On Namek, the Prince of all Saiyans was hiding behind a very tall mountain with a few trees planted on it. There, in front of him, laid the five DragonBalls that he stole. He was sitting on one of them, his mind apparently in deep thought.

In fact, it had been long since he recovered and stole the five DragonBalls. Vegeta had expected many times that Frieza or his men would come looking for him and he would be forced to engage with them in a raging battle, but strangely enough, no action was being taken to chase him down.

Vegeta grinned evilly and thought he may have the advantage after all.

Vegeta began to think about where he could find the other two DragonBalls. One of them, he was told, that it was with the Eldest Namekian, which may take him days to get there, but where was the other one?

Suddenly, a thought hit the Saiyan Prince. He remembered what Frieza's henchmen told him, that he was siding with Raditz to rebel against Frieza. Even though joining forces with Raditz was an idea he had once agreed to, but now greatly discouraged because of his deep-rooted hatred for his former comrade, he suspected that Raditz was also looking for the DragonBalls, but he did not know what kind of wish he wanted; however, he could care less about that now.

Vegeta thought he may have to confront Raditz at some point and get him to spit out any information about the DragonBalls. Of course, why would he give him the answer that easily or at least, why would he even speak to him without resorting to a fight first? It was what Saiyans had always done. To settle their conflicts, particularly with their rivals and arch-enemies, they will battle to the fullest until one of them gives in.

"But I need to get all seven DragonBalls to make my wish," Vegeta was determined to make this happen, "and I need to do it fast. But the question is…how?"

As for the Z-warriors, they were waiting for Bardock to recover. The Namekian children spent some time playing games with Bulma and Gohan. They were Earthling games, ones they had never obviously heard of before, but nevertheless, they still found them to be really fun. Krillin was talking to Elder Moori, gathering more information about the Namekians' Great Elder. Raditz was standing outside the door, waiting.

Bardock, who had fallen asleep, soon woke up. Trying not to fall from the couch, he propped himself with one arm, then he slowly sat up, placing his hand on his forehead again, still thinking that the pain was there somewhere, but thankfully it was gone.

From the kitchen, Krillin noticed Bardock waking up. He went to him immediately. "Hey, Bardock, looks like you're doing better now."

"…I guess," Bardock finally released his hand from his forehead. He then slowly looked up and said, "You guys should've gone to the Eldest Namekian without me. I would've caught up anyway."

"Nah, we can't leave any of our friends behind," Krillin smiled. "Your health is more important at the moment."

Bardock smiled as well. He then looked away while trying to relax his mind and body.

Gohan also noticed his grandfather was doing much better. "Huh? Hey, Grandpa Bardock! Hah, hah!" he laughed happily as he ran towards him. He then called his uncle outside.

Raditz immediately entered home and closed the door behind him. "You okay, Father?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks," Bardock said. "Sorry for worrying you guys earlier."

Bulma came in the room and reassured him, "Don't sweat it, Bardock. I hope your headache's gone though."

"It should be gone…for the moment, at least," Bardock was slightly worried.

There was this brief period of silence until Elder Moori spoke. "Well, Mr. Bardock, whenever you're ready, we'll take you to the Eldest Namekian as soon as we can."

Bardock nodded in understanding. He then asked, "How was everything when I was asleep? There weren't any enemies, were there?"

Bulma shook her head. "No actually, and I'm surprised. It's been calm recently."

"Probably the bad guys just given up," Gohan thought.

Raditz crossed his arms and placed his back against the wall. "I wouldn't count on it. They may be waiting for _us_ , seeking for that perfect opportunity to strike, should we make a move."

Bardock sighed heavily. He then stood up and urged everyone, "Come on, we have to go."

Bardock just needed a glass of ice, cold water before resuming their journey. As the Z-warriors prepared to leave with Bulma, Dende, and Cargo staying behind, Raditz had a brief, private conversation with his father.

"Father, what is it that you saw?" Raditz knew he saw the future earlier. "From the looks of it…it seems we're all going to be in trouble."

Bardock stared at him for a while, keeping his eldest son at bay for a moment. He then passed him while briefly touching his back. "Just…hope for the best, Raditz."

Both of their minds though could not be put to ease.

Elder Moori met with Krillin, Gohan, Bardock, and Raditz outside. Once everyone was gathered around him, Moori then had his palms face towards the ground. He then closed his eyes and gradually, winds blew from side-to-side and this dimmed light emerged from underneath them. This illumination almost engulfed them, in a perfect circle. Moori was struggling to make this technique happen, but he did the best that he could do. Soon, everyone was caught in this shaft of light and they immediately disappeared.

From afar, Vegeta's senses heightened all of a sudden. He stood up from one of the DragonBalls he was sitting on and he shifted his vision to his left. "What's this? It's like a cluster of energies that just appeared, but now it's gone."

He thought about what he felt and then assumed this life force could have come from Raditz. He also predicted his father and possibly Goku were there with him. There were the only Saiyans who carried great amounts of potential, but Vegeta ought to change all of that.

"They've probably sided with the Namekians, so they must know the locations of at least one of the DragonBalls," Vegeta rationalized. He turned around for a second to glance at the five orbs he stole. Immediately, he began to dig a large crater and bury only four of them to keep them hidden and in hopes that their enemies' scouters will not be able to find them. He only took one DragonBall with him, just in case.

"I'll make this quick," Vegeta then flew towards the direction where he felt that faint cluster of energies earlier.

Miles away from where the Z-warriors' hideout was, across vast waters and numerous islands, there was a narrow, thin canyon standing in the middle of the ocean and it could be the tallest canyon seen on Namek. On top of it was a grand house. Inside, there was another Namekian who looked very similar to Piccolo except he is wearing similar clothes to what his fellow brothers are usually wearing. He has a white collar around his neck, a blue vest over his body, and white pants. He and Piccolo may share the same personalities of being quiet and serious while in battle, but this particular Namekian is more humble and soft-spoken.

He was walking towards to another Namekian who appears to be very different from the rest. In fact, he is the Eldest Namekian that Moori kept mentioning about. He is very wide in size, he towers all over his brothers, and he remains stationary in his chambers. As aged he is, he is the wisest and most knowledgeable Namekian ever. The Eldest Namekian is the one to pay huge respects to since he was the very one who saved the Namekian race from going extinct in the past.

The Namekian gave their Grand Elder some water for him to drink. "Here you are, Guru."

Guru, with his huge hand, took the cup from him. "Thank you, Nail," after drinking half of the water, he began to cough excessively.

Nail looked on with a gleam of sympathy and sorrow spread across his eyes. Guru had been very sick ever since, but Nail's expression only meant that he cannot do anything about it except to constantly take care of him in hopes that he would just feel better at the end, but for his old age, it was only natural for him to have a much more difficult time recovering

After finishing his water, Guru passed back to the cup to him. Nail was about to go and clean the cup until Guru told him, "Nail, I'm sure you've been sensing what I have been sensing now."

Nail laid the cup beside him for a while and turned his attention to him fully. "Guru, I know what you mean. I, too, have been sensing these strange vibes in the air…evil is lurking by."

Guru weakly raised his head. "I can sense them many miles away. My children, they're in need of help. Some…have already died."

Nail had known about this already, but he felt that he and Guru could not do anything about it especially that Guru was very weak and sick while Nail must stay with him and protect him with his own life. He must keep him shielded from the forces of evil that could come at any moment.

"Guru, what can we do? Our brothers are falling one by one," Nail told him though.

Guru remained quiet. All of a sudden, he sensed something from afar, but its life force did not belong to evil rather it was filled with goodness. He told Nail, "But hope may still remain, my son. Please welcome our guests outside. I can sense that Elder Moori is coming here along with a few other companions."

"Companions?" asked Nail as he stared outside.

Guru nodded to him. "Go and take them here. I must speak to them quickly."

Nail did as what he was told and went out.

At the main entrance, Elder Moori, Krillin, Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock reappeared and the light they were surrounded in disappeared. Moori was seen perspiring a little, seeing how this kind of teleportation technique can exert a lot of energy, but he still looked fine overall.

"Are you doing okay, Elder Moori?" asked Krillin.

Moori smiled and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Yes, I'm fine. I just need a bit of rest, that's all."

The rest then turned around and found the grand house of the Eldest Namekian standing before them.

"So this is what it looks like," Gohan said.

"It's quite amazing actually," Krillin said.

Then, from the door, Nail came out to greet them. He placed his hands behind his back and nodded to Elder Moori with respect. "Elder Moori, it's been a long time."

Moori's smile became wider. Nail to them is the most powerful Namekian warrior alive and he trusted him with everything especially that he is the appointed guardian of Guru. "Nail, it's good to see you."

"Wow," Gohan was surprised. "He looks a lot like Mr. Piccolo."

Raditz and Bardock remained silent.

Nail spoke again. "You and your friends are most welcome here. Come inside. There is much to discuss."

Elder Moori became as serious as he was. "So, Guru must know what has been going on or at least felt what is happening."

"Yes, he has known about it since," Nail replied.

Raditz politely interrupted. "If he knows about it, shouldn't the Grand Elder head to a safer place?"

Nail shook his head. "That can't be done. Unfortunately, Guru is too old. He knows that his time is drawing near and he's too weak to move. All I could now is to protect him until the very end."

Nail then urged for them to come inside and meet Guru. Once inside the vast chambers, the Z-warriors stood in awe as the Eldest Namekian stood before them. He was much bigger in person, almost like a giant, yet very gentle at heart. The Z-fighters were almost speechless.

"Guru, Elder Moori and his friends are here," Nail informed him.

Elder Moori bowed his head with great respect. "Guru," he spoke his name.

Guru welcomed him and then, the rest. "Elder Moori, it's good to see you and the rest of your friends. I can sense that you're the ones who saved my children including Elder Moori, Cargo, and Dende, correct? How can I ever repay you to show my gratitude?"

The Z-warriors were still rendered speechless until Krillin spoke first. He laughed nervously. "Oh! I, uh, please, you don't have to repay us or anything."

There was another moment of silence.

Krillin gulped hard and spoke again. "Um, excuse me?"

Guru lowered his head as if to look at him. He then began to cough again, but he tried to seize this, so that he may speak to them properly.

"Guru!" exclaimed Moori with concern while Nail stood in silence, watching.

Guru cleared his dry throat. "You must've heard or even seen the dreadful aliens obliterating every single one of us just to get their hands on the DragonBalls. To Nameks, DragonBalls symbolize wisdom and power. But for Frieza and his men…hah…he only uses it for their own greed."

Bardock apologized for interrupting and asked Guru how he came to know Frieza. Guru, however, did not answer his question. Instead, he remained quiet again as if he remembered a memory from the past. Bardock was confused as to why he couldn't answer him.

"Forgive us, Guru." Elder Moori then said. "The gentlemen you see before me are against Frieza, his father, and his dreadful minions. We have agreed upon ourselves and to each other that the only way to save our home planet is to rid of these evil forces."

Nail looked at him. In his mind, he might know what he will say next.

"These men are warriors from Planet Earth and their motives for coming here is good and pure," Moori continued.

"What is their intent then?" Guru asked.

"Well," Krillin continued the conversation. "We're here to collect your DragonBalls, but just to wish our lost friends back to life. They died in such heavy combat back in our home planet."

"And how do you know about the DragonBalls?" Guru wanted to know.

"We used to have another set on Earth, good Sir," Gohan answered.

Guru was surprised and believed this to be impossible until the Z-fighters explained to him about Kami, his history and origin, and how he escaped before from the radical climate shift that occurred in Namek years ago and was sent to Earth in order for him to be saved.

After the story was explained to the Eldest Namekian, he now understood. "I see, now I remember. Kami, yes…I actually know him since when he was a small child. Kindhearted and gifted he was, he also had the ability to create the DragonBalls."

"Mr. Kami died from the battle that happened on Earth," explained Gohan.

"His cause of death was from a Saiyan who's also on Namek, seeking for your DragonBalls," Raditz was talking about Vegeta.

Guru gave a heavy sigh. "For someone who could defeat Kami with such horrendous power coursing through his veins, by any chance, one person that could have defeated Kami was a Super Saiyan…," he suddenly said.

The Z-warriors had never heard of this term before. They became interested to know what this "Super Saiyan" was, but it seemed like Bardock and Raditz may know about it or at least, heard something every similar to it. It was just in the form of a legend; that was all they knew.

Upon hearing the word "Super Saiyan", Bardock received a vision again, but thankfully, it did not hurt him like last time. He saw Frieza who appeared to be speaking to a certain someone and he was in a state of rage as he was telling that someone about this "Super Saiyan" and how it did not exist at all, that it was only a legend, a grandiose, tall tale fabricated by the minds of the Saiyans who were trying too hard to show how fearless they can be.

When he snapped back to reality, he realized Guru was talking to them again; therefore, he just heard only half of what he said.

"-you'll understand what I mean when I show you the history," Guru said as he gestured Krillin to come to his side. Gently, he placed his huge hand on Krillin's head while the monk warrior looked on, puzzled and a little nervous still. Guru encouraged him to clear his mind, so that he may give him scenes from the past about Kami himself and what he meant by a Super Saiyan.

And from there, Krillin could see these past events in his mind. It showed a scene of a younger Kami in his lookout, struggling to sleep. After he fell from his bedside, a figure started to emerge out from his back like an evil shadow that wanted to release itself. This "shadow" was another Namekian and yes, it was pure evil since he was the complete opposite of Kami himself. This was actually King Piccolo himself whom Goku fought before when he was a young warrior. Krillin then saw King Piccolo laughing evilly as he destroyed villages and cities.

"Kami knew that his will to become the guardian of Earth could never be fulfilled, not as long the darker side of him remains and so, he purged himself, even the slightest evil inside of his heart. Thus, he split into two and Piccolo was born. In doing so, the powers were equally shared between these two halves. If they have been reunited as one, they will not be defeated by any normal Saiyan," Guru finished showing Krillin this history. He released his palm from his head.

Krillin believed that to be a strange, yet interesting experience.

Guru made his decision. "I can now truly see that your hearts _are_ pure. Your courage in the face of adversity and your loyalty towards the ones you care exceeds beyond question. Because you've proven yourself to be true warriors at heart, I give you this DragonBall."

Lo and behold, Guru took out the one-star Dragon Ball that was neatly placed behind his chair. Since his hand was very huge, he could easily fit the gleaming orb at the palm of his hand. He gave it to Krillin proudly. "Here you go."

"Wow! I'm very grateful, Sir! You have no idea how this means a lot to us," Krillin exclaimed, observing the wishing orb.

"All right!" Gohan cheered. "Thank you so much!"

Raditz smiled. "At least we're getting somewhere now with the DragonBalls."

Guru though had to interrupt their short celebration. He hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he must inform them, "Make haste with your wish. Unfortunately, I feel I only have a few days left before my time comes."

Everyone gasped in surprise. Nail continued to stand in silence while Elder Moori had to look away for a moment. Just knowing that their Great Elder only had few days to live was making him sorrowful.

"I am very sorry," Guru apologized deeply. "If I go, then the DragonBalls will vanish along with me. You must make your wish as soon as possible."

Elder Moori had to interrupt again while trying to act as normal as he can be, fighting back tears and all these overwhelming emotions. "I'm sorry again, Guru, but as you might know, five of the DragonBalls are already in the hands of our enemies. Their potential is great, but I believe these warriors can find greater potential if you please unlock their hidden powers within them."

Guru understood him. "Yes, I know what you mean, Elder Moori. It is what I'm about to do next. Let me bestow you with another gift," he told the Z-fighters.

In the perpetual skies, Vegeta continued to take wing to find out that cluster of energies he felt earlier. On the other hand, the Ginyu Force continued to wait patiently for their king's command.

The members of the elite force were sitting on top of boulders and leaning against canyons while King Cold sustained floating in air, his arms crossed, his eyes staring at a far distance. Ginyu had his scouter on the whole time and what he found on the screen was blinking a dot that was moving towards the left. Ginyu knew this was Vegeta and so, he informed King Cold about it.

King Cold told him, "Like I said, let's not rush into this. It's not the right time yet. I'm still waiting for all seven DragonBalls to be present."

Ginyu refused a bit, "But your Majesty-!"

King Cold turned his head, but he kept on grinning. "Just be patient."

Jeice and the rest of his companions kept on waiting.

Jeice kicked a stone out of the way. "Oy, can't we just go and attack Vegeta already? I'm ready for some action here."

"Well, he's the king. If he says not yet, then not yet," Recoome stretched his arms. "Ooh! We should've brought some snacks."

Guldo looked at King Cold. "I'm surprised that he can remain motionless for a very long time."

Meanwhile, inside the hideout, Bulma, Cargo, and Dende were passing time by playing more board games. Dende was rolling the die and got four. He moved that many spaces on the board and grabbed a card.

Cargo expressed, "This is really fun! I never thought there'll be games like these."

It was Bulma's turn to move her piece. She rolled the die this time. "I'm guessing you guys play outside most of the time, right?"

"Yeah," Dende smiled. "We like chasing each other down across the fields and also play near the water."

Bulma giggled. "At least you guys are getting good exercise."

Beside them was the DragonBall that Raditz had saved from the village where Elder Moori and his children used to live in.

"I wonder what your dragon looks like," Bulma took a glimpse at the DragonBall. "He must look very different than our dragon back on Earth."

"His name is Porunga and he's really, really big!" exclaimed Cargo.

"And not only that, he can grant three wishes," Dende held three fingers.

"Really?" Bulma was surprised. "Wow, your dragon's better than ours. Our dragon can only grant one wish, so you really have to choose wisely what you wanna wish for."

Both Cargo and Dende laughed happily this time.


	21. A Decision to Make

Episode 66

A Decision to Make

Out in the vast, open areas of Namek, in an island which had a profound crater almost covering the entire the land mass, there were two henchmen, whom belonged to Frieza's army, just waking up from their very long sleep.

They were Zarbon and Dodoria and they had finally come to consciousness. Zarbon held his aching forehead as he slowly sat up, wondering where he was. Soon, Dodoria also began to wake. He also held his forehead.

"W-where am I?" asked Zarbon whose vision was still quite a blur.

Dodoria, however, clearly remembered what happened and was already getting angry. "That foolish Bardock!"

The two of them carefully stood up, trying not to hurt themselves. They turned around and noticed the huge hollow that laid only a few feet away from him.

Zarbon grunted. "Hmph. Bardock must've become too soft, he decided to spare our lives. That softness of his will get him into trouble when Lord Frieza finds him."

Dodoria realized they had completely lost track of time, but he knew they were far too late to even report back to Frieza.

"Should we-?" began Dodoria.

"I don't know," Zarbon was unsure. "If we show our faces again to Lord Frieza, then…"

"Then what are we supposed to do now?" asked Dodoria, frustrated.

Zarbon was thinking about Bardock. He wanted to redeem himself, but he was already convinced that there was no way he and Dodoria could beat this renewed and unrelenting Saiyan. Bardock had become ten times more powerful than them, and they both believed they were deemed useless as this point.

At full speed, they went their way with no sense of direction to go while figuring out if they should continue with their mission or not.

Back in the hideout, Bulma, Cargo, and Dende were now outside, but still near the cave if they needed to run back, but at the moment, everything was calm for them. The three were having so much fun, for once, the Namekian children were forgetting all their worries and the mayhem happening to their planet.

Bulma was playing hide-and-seek with them and she already found Cargo. Now both of them were looking for Dende. Dende was hiding behind a small boulder, being as quiet as he can be while trying his hardest not to giggle. When he realized they were just a few feet away from him, Dende then suddenly jumped up front and scared the wits out of the two.

"Aah!" both Bulma and Cargo shrieked.

"Got you!" Dende laughed.

And the rest laughed along with him.

"Come on, let's play another game!" Cargo insisted. He was about to head back inside the cave until he saw someone in front of the open. It was far too early to be having fun after all, as long as the evil forces were still on this planet. This someone he saw was none of their friends and so he can only assume he was an enemy of theirs.

It was Vegeta. His eyes were scanning the area. "I don't get it. Where were those clusters of energy I sensed earlier ago?"

Cargo should have hid at this point, but he was scared stiff, he did not know what to do. Soon, the Saiyan Prince locked his eyes at the Namekian child. Cargo was frozen with even more fear and he could not move his feet.

"A Namekian?" Vegeta whispered to himself. "That's impossible. No mere brat like that could carry such a high power level."

Bulma and Dende, who were still unaware of Vegeta's presence, came to Cargo and asked what he just saw, but once they noticed the unwelcomed guest in front of them, they were also frightened.

Vegeta noticed her and he can discern that she was obviously different from the rest, species-wise. He can conclude that they were some of Raditz's friends or acquaintances.

He began to grin with malice. "Well, well, it's funny to find an Earthling here lingering in these parts. I could tell you're from Earth because of your pathetic power level."

Bulma was shocked. _"Oh no! It's…Vegeta! How-how in the world did he find us?!"_

She then saw the DragonBall that Vegeta was carrying. _"And he has a DragonBall, too! This not good…"_

She, Dende, and Cargo were desperately thinking of a way to escape somehow while hoping that their friends would return soon.

"Come forward," Guru told Krillin. Krillin was hesitant at first, but he strolled beside him. Guru prepared to awaken the hidden powers sleeping inside the monk warrior by simply placing his hand on his head again. Due to his frailty, old age, and unfortunately, his illness, he cannot unlock all of Krillin's hidden strength as well as everyone else's, but just enough that will aid them in harder battles. The rest of their powers, they will just need to discover them and release them on their own.

Guru's hand faintly glowed. A few seconds later, Krillin's body was surrounded by this transparent light. His own aura emerged from his body while Krillin had an incredible feeling inside of him, like he had woken up from a long dream and was now rejuvenated.

Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock were amazed. They could definitely feel his power rising in large increments.

Guru let go of Krillin. "There, you should feel a whole lot different now. Your sleeping powers have been inside of you all along."

Krillin was astonished. "Yeah, I _do_ feel a lot different. This is incredible. I have tons of power now! I don't know you did it, but thanks a bunch!"

Guru smiled. He then gestured for the half-Saiyan to come near him. "How about you, my friend?"

"Oh, yes, that's right," Gohan almost forgot why he was here. He went to Guru and like Krillin, the Eldest Namekian also unlocked his strength.

Guru was most fascinated by the boy's latent potential. "Oh, I could sense a lot of power in you. You'll turn out to be a great warrior, I'm sure."

"Really?" Gohan could hardly believe in his statement.

Krillin chuckled. "Well, just to remind you, Gohan, you're Goku's son after all."

In no later time, Gohan's powers were also unleashed while his blue, dazzling aura was emitted from his body. Gohan actually felt he was slowly becoming that other warrior, the one that tends to emerge every time his emotions, mostly rage, are at peak, but this time, he felt much calmer, more serene with a lot of determination and willpower.

"Amazing!" Krillin exclaimed. "Wait 'till your dad sees your brand new powers, Gohan. I bet he'll be really proud of you."

Gohan kept staring at his hands, which he then turned into fists. "Yeah!" he said proudly. He then looked at Bardock and Raditz and wondered what their reactions were. His grandfather and uncle both smiled as they were also proud of what he had become.

Guru then turned his attention to Bardock and Raditz. "I guess you're the last ones. Please come forward."

Bardock and Raditz came closer and as Guru placed his right hand on Bardock's head and his left hand on Raditz's, he gasped in even more surprise. Like Krillin and Gohan, they were carrying great potential, but there was something more inside of these two full-blooded Saiyans that even Guru could not decipher what it was, but at this moment, he was fully certain that this _legend_ he had heard of from the past…was likely not a myth at all. He had a hunch that this legend will soon come to reality.

Bardock and Raditz, with Guru's help, felt this surge of newly-found potential that once laid dormant in them, but now ready to be utilized and overcome their foes. They were engulfed by their mist-like auras. Their eyes then met and they both nodded to each other, understanding what their next course of action will be and that was to finally confront Frieza and his men.

"That's so awesome!" Gohan cheered.

"Yeah, you guys are a heck a lot stronger than before. I bet we can take on any obstacle out there," Krillin was confident.

Guru laughed softly and so did Elder Moori and Nail.

Bardock gave his gratitude. "Thank you so much. We need to get going now."

"Wait a second. But how about this DragonBall?" Krillin held the magical orb in front of him.

Nail answered him, "If Guru has given it to you, you've definitely earned his trust and respect."

Guru agreed. "Like I said, use the DragonBalls to wish your friends back to life. The fate of our home planet rests in your hands now."

It was time for the Z-warriors to head on back. Elder Moori stepped out first, but before he left, he turned to their Grand Elder one more time. "Thank you very much for your help, Guru. I must leave and accompany our heroes back."

Guru nodded to him. "Elder Moori, please keep Dende and Cargo safe."

"I will," Moori said who tried his best to smile.

Krillin, Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock bid their farewells and wished for Guru and Nail to be safe.

Nail and Guru were left behind again. Guru kept smiling, trying to remain positive for the future. He then coughed again. Nail looked at him with concern, but Guru assured him that he was okay and that he should not worry about him.

Nail walked towards the window to watch Elder Moori and the Z-fighters take their leave. Moori placed his hands above the ground and soon, rays were formed and spread from underneath them. They were blanketed in this luminosity and soon, they were gone.

Vegeta was still questioning Bulma and the Namekian children. "You don't have to know who I am, but I do know you're one of Raditz's companions. I only came here for one simple question. Where did you hide that DragonBall?"

The three trembled with fear. They refused to speak about it and this made Vegeta immensely irritated.

"Don't test my patience now," Vegeta warned. "I know you're hiding one somewhere. Tell me where it is before I have to do this the hard way."

Dende and Cargo quickly hid behind Bulma's legs, hoping that Vegeta would leave and not bother them. Bulma had no idea what to do and she felt her voice just left her, but she found enough courage to say, "You're-you're not planning to harm these children, do you? Leave them alone! They didn't done anything wrong to you!"

Vegeta chuckled with malice. "Do you really think I care about them? Or any of the lives here in this worthless planet? If you just tell me where the DragonBall is, I might spare your lives."

Bulma backed away a bit. _"He's totally not gonna leave, but I can't tell him where the DragonBall is!"_

The Saiyan Prince gave them another chance to talk, but no answer was given still. He warned Bulma one more time that he will definitely harm the children if they refuse to answer him.

However, this bright light came to view, which spread across Vegeta's back. He felt this and quickly turned around, wondering what that was. As soon this blanket of light faded in front of him, he saw Moori, Raditz, Bardock, Krilllin, and Gohan. They had returned from their short journey.

Once she saw her friends, Bulma immediately screamed. "Guys! Help us! Vegeta's here!"

Indeed, the Z-warriors found the royal Saiyan elite standing in front of them.

"Vegeta?!" Raditz shouted almost with disbelief.

"What?!" Krillin and Gohan exclaimed in unison.

"Oh no, Cargo, Dende!" Elder Moori was worried for them.

Bardock began to clench his fists tightly. He also saw the DragonBall that Vegeta was carrying around his arm.

Just seeing them made Vegeta quite satisfied especially to find his arch-rival standing in front of him, yet he continued to hold hatred for his former comrade and his family who were daring enough to humiliate him from the past.

"Raditz," Vegeta smirked spitefully. "I was just about to kill your friends here for not telling me where the DragonBall is."

"Hey!" Krillin tried to stop him. "Don't you dare lay a finger on them!"

Vegeta then spotted the DragonBall Krillin was carrying in his hands. "There's only one reason why I'm here and that's to get all seven DragonBalls. I already have five, one of them I'm holding right now. And it seems I found the sixth one."

Krillin growled in response while trying to protect the DragonBall he received from Guru.

"And I know that you're hiding another one somewhere. You better tell me where it is now or you can say goodbye to your friends here!" Vegeta abruptly placed his hand in front of Bulma and the Namekian children. He immediately formed a flashing sphere at the center of his palm as he prepared to destroy them.

"AAH!" Bulma screamed while Cargo and Dende held tightly on her, trembling with fear.

"NO!" Moori shouted.

"No! Stop it!" Gohan demanded.

Raditz was about to take action and attack Vegeta himself.

However, Bardock stopped all of them instead and told the Saiyan Prince, "Fine, we'll give you the last one."

"What?!" everyone was shocked.

"Father, what are you saying?" Raditz questioned him.

Vegeta seemed satisfied with his answer. He immediately dropped his hand and proceeded not to obliterate their friends. "At least someone here's being wise. Now, go take out the last DragonBall and all of you better follow me including that old man over there," he glanced at Elder Moori.

Everyone was now staring at Bardock, questioning why he would just give up the DragonBalls like that after all the efforts they had done. Before they could ask why he made a decision like this, Bardock suddenly told Bulma, "Hey, Bulma, get the DragonBall."

"Bardock, are you nuts?!" Bulma raised her voice. "You can't just let him have his wish-"

"Stop talking and just do it," he said firmly.

Bulma realized she had no choice but to do as he says. She ran inside the cave, entered her mini-home, and with hesitation, she picked up the DragonBall and went out with it. Bulma came out from the cave, staring at Vegeta with fear and doubt as she rolled the DragonBall to him. He stopped moving it with his foot and he picked it up with his other arm.

"Krillin, keep that DragonBall you're holding. You'll have to give it to Vegeta later," Bardock then said to him.

Krillin refused at first. He really wanted to question him why he was letting Vegeta have his way, but for some reason, he could not argue with him at this time.

"Now, follow me," Vegeta immediately lifted himself in air as he carried both of the wishing orbs underneath his arms. He flew high in the skies and led the way.

Bardock, Raditz, Krillin, and Elder Moori had to follow Vegeta from behind. Gohan was about to leave as well, but before he did that, the young boy said to Bulma, "Guys, I'm so sorry about this. Be safe, okay?" and with a confused, more sorrowful look in his eyes, he finally followed his friends and family.

Bulma, Dende, and Cargo were left behind again, shocked and hopeless.

While following Vegeta from behind, Krillin took speed to come closer to Bardock. "I can't believe this, Bardock. Are you out of your mind? Are you actually going to let him make his wish?!"

"-he won't," Bardock interrupted.

"Huh?" Krillin was more confused than ever. "I don't get it. You just freakin' gave him the last two DragonBalls he's looking for!"

"Like I said," Bardock repeated himself, keeping his eyes fixed on Vegeta, "he w _on't_ make his wish."

Moori, Raditz, and Gohan also heard what he said and thought if he actually had a plan in mind.

Vegeta soon led the Z-warriors to where all he hid the four DragonBalls. With his left hand, he used slight force to remove the soil covering them. He then placed the other two DragonBalls on the ground while Krillin kept holding the one he received from Guru. Now, all seven DragonBalls had been collected.

King Cold and the Ginyu Force continued to wait for their opportunity and now, they did not have to wait anymore. Ginyu came up to King Cold again and said eagerly, "Your Majesty, we're in luck! All of the DragonBalls are in the same spot, but it seems like we have some company to deal with. We should go over there now before anything else happens to the DragonBalls."

King Cold released his arms from his chest and started to move forward, but without a sense of hurry. The Ginyu Force trailed behind him, but wondered why he was not in a rush. As they made their way _slowly_ towards the DragonBalls with King Cold having that ever suspicious grin on his face, Burter's scouter turned on and tracked down two people coming their way. Burter informed King Cold about it and before they know it, they found Zarbon and Dodoria coming their way. The top henchmen of Frieza came to a halt once they realized they found King Cold and the Ginyu Force.

King Cold took a moment to put a name to their faces. "Oh, you're…Zarbon and Dodoria, right? You look badly bruised. Did something happen?" he joked around.

"Your Majesty!" Zarbon and Dodoria bowed with great respect.

"If you're thinking of returning to Frieza, I would have to say you may be far too late," King Cold told the truth.

The two stayed in silence and were deeply ashamed for their failures. But Dodoria wanted to prove himself. "We'll get revenge, Sir. We'll get Bardock and make sure he's gone for good!"

King Cold was not at all interested at in hearing their excuses, but he also had no intent of punishing them whatsoever. That was his son's job since Zarbon and Dodoria belonged to his army after all.

"If I was Frieza, I would've killed you on the spot already or at least banished you two, but since I'm not him, then I guess…you're more than welcome to join us, but I guarantee you, you will not survive for long," King Cold was blunt with them, already predicting their fates.

Zarbon and Dodoria became speechless again while holding only disgrace in their names. Was there any chance for them to redeem themselves? Perhaps their current enemies were just way out of their leagues.

All seven DragonBalls shimmered underneath the sun. The Saiyan elite then pointed at Moori. "You there. I know that you need a village elder to summon the dragon since he knows the secret password for it."

Elder Moori did not do anything.

"Well?" Vegeta was expecting for him to make the ritual already. "Don't make me wait all day long. I need to have my wish so I can gain eternal life."

"And why do you need it?" Moori asked him in a solemn tone.

Vegeta stomped his foot and said in a livid tone, "How ignorant can you guys get? Don't you understand?! All of you must know, especially you, Bardock and Raditz," he looked at them for a moment, "that Frieza and his father are here on this planet and there's no way we can beat those two unless _I_ become immortal! It's the only way to wipe them out of existence."

Krillin raised both eyebrows. "Are you saying we should join forces with you? There's no way that's ever gonna happen! Besides, why should _you_ get eternal life and not someone else who would use that power for good?"

"He's correct," Moori sided with him. "It's not like you will save this planet when you gain eternal life. Even if you do use the power of immortality to wipe out Frieza and his men, I know what you'll do next. You will abuse that power, kill every single creature that stands in your way, and make yourself the ruler of the universe."

Vegeta was getting more and more impatient with them. "I don't need to hear this lecture from you, old man. Just summon the dragon already or else, you planet will continue to fall into grave danger, do you want that?!"

Elder Moori refused to give in and just kept to where he was. Vegeta cannot believe he must also waste time dealing with this nonsense. His anger reached its peak and was about to lose control of his emotions.

"Just do as I say ALREADY!" the angered Saiyan Prince was about to hurt the villager elder on purpose to instill fear in his mind and have him give in to his wishes until Bardock, without warning, teleported in front of him and sent a sharp and painful strike to his face.

"Bardock!" everyone exclaimed.

"…!" Raditz's eyes widened.

Vegeta was completely caught off-guarded and he crashed to the ground. To his shock, he felt a significant amount of power from that attack already. It reminded him of that same pain he received back on Earth where Bardock did his unbelievable Spirit Bomb rush attack on him.

Bardock fixed his wrist guards. "You think I'll let you have your way that easily, Vegeta? I don't think so. Sure, we Saiyans have always planned to seek revenge on that mindless emperor, but I'm not gonna let someone like you continue that line of becoming a selfish tyrant yourself."

He went to his fighting stance. "You have to deal with me first if you want to get your wish."

Vegeta stood up with haste and lost control of himself. All of a sudden, he drew his left arm back, electrifying as he gathered enough energy to build a dangerous technique that could greatly injure Bardock. "You will regret attacking me!"

King Cold's scouter had detected this sudden burst of power. To him, it was now their chance to strike.

"Go," that was his signal. His purple aura enclosed him and he darted across the skies, leaving heavy winds and trails of his aura behind. The Ginyu Force took a while to react and then, they tried to catch up with him with his almost unpredictable behavior. Zarbon and Dodoria went ahead and tagged along with them.

Vegeta discharged his electrifying beam from his hands and hit Bardock with it. Bardock appeared to be chained in this almost inescapable electrification, but he was able to free himself from it without any effort at all.

"What?" Vegeta was shocked.

Bardock rushed towards him, charging forward with a clean punch straight to his stomach and struck him again with his left hand. His opponent was pushed back a few feet, but he moved forward and tried to retaliate. Their fists collided instead, creating a shockwave that almost crumbled the ground.

"Woah!" Krillin exclaimed.

Gohan kept close to Elder Moori. Gohan closed an eye as these winds almost battered his face.

Vegeta prepared for his next move before Bardock can until someone came in and went for a striking kick to his chest, yet the prince was lucky enough to be able to block it in time. The one who attacked him this time was Raditz.

Vegeta swept him away and was able to hit him back, yet Raditz countered with a palm strike straight to Vegeta's chest, pushing him back once more.

The Saiyan Prince stared at him, hating to have to deal with this hindrance. Raditz and Bardock then stood side-by-side, ready to stop Vegeta if he decides to make his assault again.

The three Saiyans were about to turn up the heat for this unexpected battle of theirs until, just before their fists collided again, a sword came out of nowhere that stopped them in the middle of their fight. There was this shadowed figure holding this sword in which he then made a diagonal strike with it, unleashing a thin, razor-sharp energy towards the Saiyans. They were fortunate enough to evade it and instead, it sliced a huge mountain behind them.

"Saiyans…they can be so reckless, letting their passion for fighting get the best out of them," that dark figure remarked. He put his sword back in his sheath. Underneath the sun, it revealed to be King Cold along with the Ginyu Force, Zarbon, and Dodoria.

Vegeta's eyes widened to see all members of the elite force now in front of him as well as Frieza's mysterious, power-seeking father.

Gohan did not know why, but their sinister appearances made him feel afraid. "Is that-is that Frieza?" he asked, trembling a little.

"No," Krillin gulped hard. "That's Frieza's father. I know those two," he quickly glanced at Zarbon and Dodoria, "but I don't know who those are!" the Ginyu Force was very much unknown to him.

Bardock cursed, "Darn it, guess _my_ plan didn't go too well," the reason why he let Vegeta have all seven DragonBalls first was that he and his friends could easily get to them and then at the end, he would bring the Prince of all Saiyans to utter defeat with his newly gained powers. Once defeated, he and his friends would then immediately use the DragonBalls to wish their friends back to life along with Elder Moori's help.

Bardock admitted that this plan of his was very risky and unfortunately, it was not successful. Now with King Cold and the Ginyu Force standing in front of the Z-warriors, they were thinking on how they should deal with this situation. And with all seven DragonBalls exposed to their worst nightmares, was there any chance for them at all to make their wish?


	22. Fearless Impulse

Episode 67

Fearless Impulse

King Cold and the Ginyu Force were standing behind the six DragonBalls. Zarbon and Dodoria kept themselves in the back, but enough for the Z-warriors to also see them. They both saw Bardock with their very own eyes and immediately, anger burnt inside of them.

"Hey, looks like we have all seven DragonBalls right here!" Recoome stared at them.

"Thank you for making the job easier for us, you insolent Saiyans!" Guldo insulted.

Elder Moori tried to conceal himself from their foes. Krillin and Gohan backed away a little while keeping vigilant to their surroundings still. Bardock and Raditz stood beside each other, maintaining worried expressions. Bardock was particularly staring at King Cold and realized how much he bore a resemblance to Frieza. In truth, he had never met him, but he had heard of his name and he was talked about many times. He realized that this tyrant was the very one he kept seeing in his visions aside from Frieza.

He felt his power level and it was massive. He became uneasy by this discovery he made, but he kept his valor intact.

Bardock recognized Guldo, but his other comrades were obviously unfamiliar to him. They were definitely the aliens he saw a few times in his visions and he guessed that this was the special elite squad, the Ginyu Force. He wondered how powerful they could be.

As for King Cold, he was only familiar with Vegeta and Raditz, but he assumed that the one with the red bandanna was Bardock, this mysterious, unrelenting Saiyan who tried to stop Frieza from destroying Planet Vegeta. Nevertheless, Saiyans or not, recognizable or totally unfamiliar, they will all share one common, cruel fate at the end and that was to be conquered by him and fall into endless oblivion.

Captain Ginyu crossed his arms. "It's nice to see you, Vegeta, Raditz. It's a total shame though that you guys just don't know when to quit, do you? Rebelling against Lord Frieza is the greatest mistake you could ever make!"

Burter nudged Jeice. "Hey, Vegeta's recovered from his injuries, but he still looks a lot weaker compared to us. Hah, what a pity."

Jeice laughed. "Heh, you got that right. It takes more than a mere power boost to overcome the mighty Ginyu Force!"

Vegeta overheard what they said. He clenched his fists tightly and then, he began to argue with Raditz and Bardock. "Tch! Now look what you've done. You _had_ to waste time and now we have to deal with this. If only I had immortality now, I would've easily wiped them out at this second!"

"Hmph…relying on just immortality?" Raditz was not impressed with what he said. "You really don't know what real strength is, you conceited prince."

"Don't start getting conceited yourself, Raditz," Vegeta warned. "What are you trying to say? Are you saying that you'll take on Frieza's father and the Ginyu Force combined? You're only low-class soldiers! What you're only asking for is for your own dooms unless if that's what you really want at the end."

Bardock suddenly said, "You better stop underestimating us too much, Vegeta, or you might regret it soon."

King Cold, this time, stopped their argument. "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but we can't delay any more time. You see, all of these DragonBalls belong to ours."

Everyone gasped.

"They're going to steal the DragonBalls!" Gohan pointed out.

"We can't let them!" Krillin shook his head.

Burter smirked. "Oh, but wait a second, your Majesty. It seems that one of the DragonBalls is still in the hands of our bald friend here."

The Z-warriors noticed that Krillin was still carrying the DragonBall from Guru. Vegeta immediately thought that if he could not get the power of immortality, then no one should ever get this power.

Vegeta suddenly ordered him, "Hey, you! Destroy that DragonBall now!"

"What?" Krillin looked at him, unsure if he heard him right.

"Just do it or else they'll get it!" Vegeta yelled.

There was no time to think or doubt him. Without second thoughts, Krillin was about to smash the DragonBall into pieces.

"Hey, wait!" Bardock tried to stop him though.

Yet, something strange happened. Krillin and the rest could not move for a second as if they were paralyzed. Then, a second later, they could move again, but Krillin noticed the DragonBall in his hands was gone. He wondered where it was and soon realized it was already in the hands of Guldo.

"Heh, heh," Guldo snickered.

"How-how in the world he was able to get that?" Gohan asked.

Vegeta tightened his fists. "So it's true what they say…Guldo may look weak, but he has the power to stop time in an instant."

Everyone was surprised to hear that a stout and strange creature like him could possess a very useful technique. For Gohan and Bardock, it finally explained how Guldo was able to escape from them before: by stopping time and allowing himself to escape, leaving Gohan and Bardock to wonder how Guldo just disappeared from the battlefield all of a sudden.

Ginyu smirked. "Good work. Now you may be wondering how you can get these DragonBalls back. Well, it's obvious. You have to deal with us first, but careful. We're pretty sinister and powerful, it won't be an easy task. Men!" he then called them out.

The Ginyu Force formed a straight line and decided to make a presentation of their entrance, to show off their style in front of their opponents just to intimidate them and make them remember the supreme power of their group.

Dodoria rolled his eyes. "Here they go again."

King Cold was not expecting this, but he should have. He was already embarrassed.

"This is making me sick," Zarbon expressed with disgust.

Once more, each member did his crazy pose. They introduced their names and announced that they were the illustrious Ginyu Force and that all those who had known or seen them should fear their name. The Z-warriors were baffled by this after watching their choreography. Being reputed as one of the most powerful forces of the galaxies, this quite contradicted with their personalities and style.

"Look at them. They must be scared stiff!" Burter believed after noticing that they appeared to be frozen on the spot.

"Hah, hah! We must've blown their minds away, that's for sure!" Guldo laughed.

The Z-fighters, however, were not intimidated at all.

"Is this really…the Ginyu Force, Raditz?" Bardock raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, I should've told you how annoying these guys get every time I see their faces," Raditz said.

Ginyu heard what he said and cautioned him. "Watch your mouth, Raditz. You haven't beaten us yet, so I suggest you shut up unless you can put your words to action. Besides, you're just a low-class. What makes you think you have the strength now to defeat us, huh?" he challenged him.

"…I'm not the same as before. That's all I'm going to tell you now," Raditz seriously told him.

King Cold believed all this bickering and exchange of clever remarks were getting them nowhere. He immediately got down to business by snapping his fingers and then raising his right hand to lift and carry all seven DragonBalls in mid-air. He maneuvered the orbs to float closer to them.

"Hey!" Vegeta yelled. He was about to retrieve the DragonBalls himself, but King Cold gave him a menacing glare, making him stop in place. He almost forgot how King Cold carries a lot of terrifying power.

Ginyu turned to his comrades. "You guys can handle a bunch of weaklings here, right? Why not I take these DragonBalls back to Lord Frieza while you deal with them if the king is all right with that?" he then asked for his approval.

King Cold smirked and said he would not argue with it at all. He then glanced at Zarbon and Dodoria. Knowing they were useless at this point, at least in terms of skill in battle, he proposed to them instead, "You two can go with him and get these DragonBalls back to my son's ship. I'll stay here with Guldo, Recoome, Jeice, and Burter…those are your names, right?"

They nodded, saying he was very much correct.

"Certainly, Sir!" Ginyu obeyed. He then asked for Zarbon and Dodoria to come along with him then.

"Don't order me around. I know what to do," Zarbon whispered angrily.

The Z-warriors watched with shock to see all seven DragonBalls being snatched away and now stolen by the hands of their enemies again. They watched them disappear in the skies. They wanted to stop them but with the Ginyu Force and King Cold standing in their way, they had no choice but to stay put.

Vegeta was beyond angry. He believed his chance for immortality, he could no longer grasp it. "I can't believe this. Why didn't you just heed to my words earlier?!" he reprimanded both Raditz and Bardock.

Both father and son completely ignored what he said, but they felt the same intensity of frustration as the prince did. How about _their_ wish of reviving their fallen friends? It just goes to show that they must deal with this problem first; however, panic could not subside as they were thinking that all of their wishes would be used up and there might be no hope for them at the end.

"We have to get them back somehow. Elder Moori, we need to do something!" Krillin said worriedly.

Elder Moori was strangely calm, however. He seemed to have a lot more faith in him than ever before. "Do not worry. Frieza will have a hard time getting his wish and probably at that time, it would be far too late for him to get what he wants."

"What? What do you mean?" asked Gohan with heightened curiosity.

Moori answered him, "As I've always mentioned to you, Namekians may be weak, but we're pretty clever creatures. Our sharp wits can outsmart our enemies no matter how strong they are."

"Uh…can you please explain what this clever plan you got then, if that's what you're implying?" Krillin hoped he knew what he was talking about.

Moori lowered the tone of his voice. "I can't say it too loud, not as long our enemies are here, but let's just say, those who don't know the Namekian language will never understand us."

Gohan and Krillin slowly looked at each other. Perhaps they could finally see the connection between the DragonBalls and the necessity of having a Namekian to summon the dragon. For now though, they just needed to trust in Moori. Bardock and Raditz also heard what the village elder said and hoped that whatever he was thinking would still allow them to use the DragonBalls for their own purposes.

King Cold then folded his arms and kept everyone in suspense for a while. Vegeta was sweating, his heart beating fast. He was more worried about King Cold. Did he really have to face him at this time?

However, the nature of the Prince of all Saiyans was not to back down that easily. He was about to announce that he would fight them one by one, but then, King Cold spoke first.

"Provide me some entertainment. I would hate to be disappointed. If the Ginyu Force is really that powerful, then prove to me that you are."

Burter used his scouter to calculate the power levels of Vegeta, Bardock, Raditz, and the rest. At the moment, their combat strengths seemed miniscule. "Hah, I'm not surprised. I'm pretty sure we can destroy them in less than five minutes."

Jeice, Recoome, and Guldo began to chuckle amongst themselves while King Cold just waited patiently for the battle to begin.

Bardock turned to his son and nodded to him and his son nodded back. Bardock then said, "My son and I will fight all four of you first."

Recoome guffawed. "Hah! You're disappointingly hilarious! You two? Bunch of third-class fighters? You think you can really win?"

Guldo though knew a little better than the rest. "Careful though. That guy has something up in his sleeves."

"No way," Jeice did not believe in him. "A low-class will always be low-class. All right then, if you guys really wanna fight us…hey, let's do rock-paper-scissors and see which one of us gets to fight who!"

""I kinda wanna fight Vegeta," Recoome already decided. "I had a lot of fun beating him into a pulp before."

Vegeta growled in response.

"Let's be fair this time, Recoome," Burter snickered. "Rock-paper-scissors is the way to go."

"Okay," Recoome was half-disappointed.

Jeice, Guldo, Burter, and Recoome formed a circle and briefly did their rock-paper-scissors game. They decided that the first winner would get Vegeta, the second winner would fight Bardock, the third one would battle Raditz, and the last one would have to deal with Krillin and Gohan.

Gohan gulped uneasily. Krillin tried to calm him down. "Stay focus, Gohan. We may not know what they're up to, but we gotta be prepared."

Vegeta grunted. He couldn't believe he would think like this, but for once in his life, he may need some actual help.

Krillin then came up to Raditz and Bardock. "Hey, we have to be careful with these guys. They may look stupid, but they're actually pretty strong. I've been feeling out their energies while they were talking. I think Gohan and I can handle those two over there," he planned out, glancing at Guldo and Jeice, "and you two can handle-"

Bardock shook his head. "No, you and Gohan stay back and keep close to Elder Moori. Raditz and I can fight the Ginyu Force."

Raditz agreed with him. "We can handle them, don't worry."

"What?" Krillin doubted. "Are you guys sure about this? But they look strong to me."

Vegeta overheard their plan and became frustrated. "Did you not hear me earlier? What makes you think you can beat the Ginyu Force on your own? You low-class scums are trying too hard to be the elites you could never be!"

"Shut your mouth, Vegeta," Bardock demanded. "I've heard enough from you for one day."

Vegeta despised him beyond imagination. "What did you just say to me? How dare you speak to me like that!"

"Let me ask you: can _you_ actually handle the Ginyu Force all alone?" Bardock questioned.

Vegeta was silenced and could not argue back for a moment.

Recoome then cheered so loud, catching the attention of the Z-warriors. "Yes, hah, hah! I get Vegeta again!"

Guldo rolled his eyes. "Why do I have to be the last? I have to deal with the small fry over there," he referred to Gohan and Krillin.

"Nah, don't worry about it Guldo," Burter said. "Besides, you get to fight someone who's about your own size."

"Was that meant to be an insult?" Guldo gnashed his teeth.

Jeice went to King Cold and saluted to him. "My lord, I hope you're all right with this line-up of men-"

"I don't care who fights who. I just want to see if the four of you can survive or not," King Cold seriously said, tired of constantly hearing, what he deemed to be, their childish games.

The Ginyu Force gulped hard. They did not know, but all this time they were just trying their king's patience. They had better start their mission and wage war against the Z-warriors before they would personally be dealt with by their king.

Despite King Cold's occasional quick tempers, a hint of was interest spread across his eyes. He was very curious about Bardock's and Raditz's powers. His scouter may say so otherwise about the readings of their level of strengths; they may be hiding some of that power.

"All right, first up!" Jeice was about to announce who would fight in the first round until Bardock and Raditz interrupted them.

"No need for formalities. Just come at us all at once," Raditz told them.

The Ginyu Force disapproved his proposal right away.

"But that's not gonna be fair for us," complained Recoome. "We actually spent some time coming up with the fighting, tournament bracket or whatever you call it…at least in our minds."

Raditz kept taking this seriously. "This is no time to play games because for you guys, it all ends here now."

"Hmph. You Saiyans can be so stubborn," Jeice told them.

He and Bardock then positioned themselves to their fighting stances with their senses intensifying, their auras gradually emerging and expanding, ready to reveal their hidden powers that had been unlocked inside of them.

King Cold was finding this to be very interesting. They seemed to be different from any ordinary Saiyan, he believed.

Vegeta stood in silent rage still. _"Tch! What fools. Acting so high and mighty in front of someone they're going to lose to."_

Just before their battle had commenced, all of a sudden, there was a sparkle that appeared in the skies. It looked like a star at first and then, sounds analogous to a ship landing can be heard from a distance. Everyone looked up and followed where that "star" was coming from and where it was going to fall. Once the object was closer to be seen, it became clear to them that this was no star. It turned out to be definitely a ship that was about to make a landing on one of the islands.

"Huh? Who's that?" Krillin wondered.

But Gohan already knew who it was. He could almost feel it in his mind and he became excited. "I know who that is! It must be my dad!"

"Goku?" Krillin had almost forgotten about his friend. He was now relieved that he arrived on time. They could really use his help now.

Bardock and Raditz gave a slight grin. They were looking forward to see Goku again.

Of course, their enemies had no idea who they were talking about except for Vegeta who felt nothing but anger again growing inside his chest without end. Goku was a Saiyan and Saiyans were a kind of warrior race where becoming stronger was one of their passions, their main purposes in life to help them face challenging opponents out there. As much as Vegeta did not want to admit it, Goku had beaten him countless times, and assuming Goku himself should have done some intense training before arriving here, Vegeta thought there was this intolerable chance again that Goku could still be many levels of training ahead of him.

Vegeta could not understand why simple, lowly Saiyans like Goku, Raditz, and Bardock could become prevailing warriors.

King Cold and the Ginyu Force turned around to find this mysterious spaceship making a landing. Then, there was complete silence.

"…reinforcements, I presume?" King Cold asked.

Indeed, on the island where that spaceship landed, the door of the ship opened and out came Goku. He was wearing his famous orange and blue uniform, but a fresh new one. He had his bag of Senzu Beans attached around his waist. A short breeze came in, making his hair and belt fly with the winds. As calm and humble he may be, another kind of strength was living inside him, which he achieved from his rigorous training while in outer space, from his steadfast mind and indomitable spirit.

Goku closed his eyes and immediately felt many kinds of energies residing in this planet, both good and bad. He felt two overwhelming power levels and he guessed that these were the two tyrants that King Kai was talking about. He also felt two more life forces that made him surprised. He could sense Bardock's and Raditz's strengths were beyond what he expected them to be.

"They must be in that direction," Goku knew a battle was about to happen soon. "Something's going on. I just hope everyone's doing okay. There's not a minute to spare. Let's see if one-hundred times gravity had really paid off!"

In a flash, Goku's body glowed in crimson aura as he already switched to his Kaioken form without having to shout the words. His body was now fully conditioned to handle the effects of this double-edged technique; therefore, he can use this skill to extremes without putting himself into heavy exhaustion and grave danger. Up ahead, King Cold and the Ginyu Force could see this glowing red figure coming towards them, from where they were standing.

"Who is that?" King Cold tried to see who it really was.

Afterwards, their enemies turned towards Bardock and Raditz who now had grins on their faces. It seemed like they have a plan up in their sleeves, a scheme of theirs they needed to be careful about. A bright light shone ahead and soon, Goku was already in the battlefield with a swift, surprising entry. He relaxed his own power and stopped being in his Kaioken form for a moment. He perfectly stopped between his father and older brother. Bardock and Raditz did not have to turn their heads to see if it was really Goku.

Vegeta tightened his fists. "Kakarot…"

"Goku!" Krillin cheered excitedly.

"Daddy, you made it!" Gohan laughed with joy.

"He's your father?" Elder Moori asked the boy.

Gohan nodded eagerly. "Yeah! He's really strong. Don't worry, Elder Moori. He's here to save your people, too!"

Moori gave a sigh of relief.

Goku looked at Krillin and Gohan and smiled wide. "Hey, guys. How's it going?"

"Daddy, I'm so glad you're here!" Gohan was about to approach him and embrace him, but Goku had to stop him, unfortunately.

"Stay back for now, my son. It looks like we got some company," Goku focused on the Ginyu Force and King Cold. He immediately displayed a serious expression to show them that he was here on this planet for one purpose.

The Ginyu Force was puzzled to see him.

"Who is this guy? Is he a Saiyan?" Jeice asked.

"I don't know," Burter used his scouter, "but according to his power level, he's pretty weak to me."

King Cold examined him from head to toe. He looked like a Saiyan, but his name did not match that of a typical Saiyan name unless he was called something different by his friends.

Goku then noticed Vegeta and knew that he was one of the major causes creating chaos to this innocent planet, but he was surprised to see him standing beside his family and friends. He briefly looked around the battle site and asked, "Vegeta? Are you actually on our side now?"

Vegeta rejected the idea. "Don't be ridiculous. There's no way in my lifetime that I'd join you and your petty friends."

Goku gave a look. He should have known better than to trust him.

Goku then finally made eye contact with Bardock and Raditz and greeted them with another smile on his face. "Hey, Dad, Raditz. It's been a long time, huh?"

"Kakarot," they smiled back.

"How you're handling trouble here?" asked Goku.

"Well, the trouble has just begun," Bardock moved his head, telling him to keep his eyes on King Cold and the Ginyu Force. Goku did and one by one, he felt the energies of their enemies.

"They look really strong especially that guy," Goku looked at King Cold. "I'm getting a bad feeling about him."

King Cold stared back at him.

Recoome was getting impatient, he had to say, "All right, I don't really care who you are, but you know what they say: 'the more, the merrier.' Heh, heh. It's about time we start the fight!"

Meanwhile, Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were sharing this mental understanding. Their reunion must be cut short for now until their enemies are vanquished. Without the need to speak words, Bardock, Raditz, and Goku decided they should team up and take on the Ginyu Force members first as they were the ones who were challenging them at the moment.

"All right then," Goku spoke. "My dad, brother, and I will fight you guys, but I'll give you a chance to leave if you know what's good for you. We can avoid this violence altogether or we can do this the hard way."

Jeice was annoyed. "Are you kidding me? Don't tell us what to do, mystery man. We're the ones running the place here. All right then, you're just wasting our time here. If you guys want to fight all of us at once, Recoome, Guldo, why not you two take them on first? Give them the first bloody punch and let's see if they'll keep on squealing like what they're doin' now!"

Recoome cracked his knuckles. "Well, I was supposed to fight Vegeta first, but I guess we can deal with you three. Careful though. I won't go easy on you. Hah, hah! Now, with brute, mighty force and unpredictable, psychic powers combined, you Saiyans will definitely lose to Guldo and I."

Guldo stood beside his comrade. He was very nervous.

"Well, you'll never know unless we try, right?" Goku then switched to his fighting stance and so did Bardock and Raditz. The three full-blooded Saiyans were prepared to do battle.


	23. Mind-Binding Force!

Episode 68

Mind-Binding Force!

 _Whoosh!_

The winds were heavy for a second and then, silence took over.

King Cold will be staying in the sidelines for now, to watch the skills of their enemies, to somehow exploit any weaknesses he could find from them, and find out why these Saiyans were spared from Planet Vegeta's destruction. Fate is a concept that very much intrigues him. These Saiyans were able to escape from the cruel fate of being perished along with their home planet, he ought to find out the true reason behind their survival and existence.

Recoome and Guldo prepared themselves to confront their foes. Goku, Bardock, and Raditz waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to make their moves.

"All right, Guldo, let's show them what we're made of," Recoome insisted.

"Hmm," Guldo said.

Once more time, the two of them showed off their poses and introduced their names.

"I am Recoome of the Ginyu Force!"

"And I am Guldo of the Ginyu Force!"

Together, they did another set of poses and then, they said, "Prepare yourselves! We'll make you suffer like you've never suffered before."

Another moment of silence drifted in. The Z-warriors, especially Goku, were baffled. This was Goku's first time seeing this kind of strange exhibition.

"Uh…what was that all about?" Goku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing. They're just trying to show how irritating they are, Kakarot," Raditz told him.

Goku suddenly laughed. "It's kinda funny actually. Hah, hah!"

The Ginyu Force heard what he said and became more irritated. They felt like they were not being taken seriously at all.

"We're not _that_ stupid," Burter snarled.

"You better start getting scared of us 'cause we're a lot more powerful than we look even if you think our poses are ridiculous!" Recoome told Goku.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Goku chuckled.

Bardock just let out a grunt of frustration for their childish, meaningless games. Suddenly though, he received another vision from the future; however, this vision was not related to anything what was going on in Namek. In this image, he saw a very familiar-looking person. He was full-grown, wearing this superhero-like costume while sporting an odd-looking helmet that almost looked like a bucket. He was standing in front of a mirror, doing poses similar to what the Ginyu Force was doing now.

 _"Okay, how about this entrance quote? Ahem…'allow me to tell you my name. I'm the hero of justice, the destroyer of evil, the one who'll stop your evil deeds. Surrender now or you'll face the consequences. I am…the Great Saiyaman!' How's that? Was it good?"_

Bardock also saw a young boy beside the man who was making these poses. Bardock cannot clearly see the face of this boy though.

" _That's so awesome! Can you teach me some of those cool poses? I wanna be a superhero, too!"_

 _"Sure, Bro, if you just keep constant practice and it doesn't hurt to have a creative imagination as well. Well, thanks. I made the quote and the poses myself. Now, let's train so we don't lose to eeeeee-vil!"_

 _"You said it!"_

 _"Yeah! Uh-huh! The hero of justice is now here! Uh-huh! The champion of justice has finally arrived! Uh-huh!"_

That vision ended, and Raditz and Goku saw the look in their father's face and asked if he was all right. Raditz was beginning to realize that these stares coming from Bardock were happening too often. He was worried if he saw another horrible vision again.

Bardock slowly turned his head towards Gohan and his nephew noticed this.

"Huh? What's the matter, Grandpa Bardock?" he asked.

Bardock suddenly told him, "Gohan…listen, in the future, do us all a favor and don't dress up as some sort of a rejected spandex or a costume wearing freak, all right? And make sure you don't do any crazy poses in front of us!"

"Eh?" Krillin cannot make any sense with what he was saying.

Gohan also had no idea what he was talking about. "What do you mean? What costume? What are you talking about, Grandpa?"

Bardock realized he might reveal to them his secret, his secret of precognitive foresight, if he were to explain to Gohan what his words meant; therefore, he just said, "N-nothing! Just-just remember what I said, all right? Even ten years from now."

"Huh?" Gohan was more confused than ever.

Goku had to ask him, "Dad, what costume freak? It's not even Halloween and actually, Gohan has had nice costumes from past Halloween parties. Chi-Chi has always made his costumes. Oh!" he snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "There was this one time when Gohan dressed up as a cute Aerodactylus and because of that, he probably got the most candy when we went to West City for this special Trick-or-Treating event. Everyone thought he was cute. Speaking of candy, I'm getting a little hungry," he was going off-topic.

Raditz had no idea what he was saying, obviously. "Kakarot, all I hear now is nonsense coming out from your mouth."

"Wait a minute. Don't tell me you've never heard of Halloween before!" Goku was surprised.

"If it's a kind of holiday, forget it," Bardock was at the same frame of mind as Raditz was. "Back in our home planet, Saiyans never have time for vacations."

"Stop talking already!" Recoome suddenly took the initiative after getting impatient from hearing their useless conversations. He charged forward fast, throwing a heavy punch, but despite this mere distraction amongst the three Saiyans, Goku, Raditz and Bardock were able to get their heads back into the fight. The three evaded his attack and they soared into the skies, underneath the sun.

Despite Recoome's bulky size though, he was quite faster than he looked. He was able to get behind his opponents and with his hands clasped together, he struck Raditz first on his head. Goku and Bardock teamed up as they went for dynamic kicks to Recoome's chest, strong enough to make it break, but Recoome blocked both of their attacks with ease. He first struck Goku and then Bardock and both were about to collide to the ground with Raditz.

"Hey, Guldo, help me out, will ya?!" Recoome shouted.

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Guldo was lost in thought as he was too nervous from having to face Bardock again. Nevertheless, he must keep his focus on the battle for now. He then placed his hands in front and released a kind of energy blast, which paralyzed the three Saiyans, making them stop in place.

Recoome then dove down from the skies and one by one, hit his opponents as hard as he can while they were still paralyzed, making them collide against boulders and the ground itself.

"Oh man!" Krillin was worried.

Elder Moori noticed that despite these direct hits, Goku and his family did not look hurt at all; perhaps just surprised, their guards let down a little.

Vegeta, however, was convinced that his arch-rivals were already having a difficult time with their enemies. _"Hmph, that's what they get for not listening to me, these low-levels. The Ginyu Force is a lot tougher than they look."_

Recoome then gathered as much energy as he can to release an all-out, barrage of homing blasts. "Here's a little surprise from me. Recoome Renegade…Bomber!" as soon as these blasts made contact with Goku and his family, they woke a huge explosion.

"Dad! Grandpa! Uncle!" Gohan panicked a little.

Krillin felt they should do something to help them. He clearly saw his friends being trapped in Recoome's bombardment of explosive blasts, but Elder Moori stopped him including Gohan.

"Don't worry. They should be fine," Moori reassured them. "I can sense, they're not hurt at all."

"Really?" Krillin could hardly believe in him.

"They _look_ hurt," Gohan doubted his words.

Moori though smiled. "But do you think they're _in_ pain?"

Vegeta had overheard what the village elder said. He had to make certain if his words were true. Recoome's Renegade Bomber left clouds of smoke and dust behind, blocking everyone's visions, and if one were to be hit by this technique of his, it would seriously inflict damage. The Saiyan Prince thought to himself, how could an aged Namekian who barely had strength to protect himself from anything make such a bold prediction?

Because of all this dust and haze, Burter had to cover his mouth as well as Jeice.

"Oh, this is just great. You know how long it's gonna take me to wash all of this dust out from my hair," whined Jeice, holding a napkin up to his nose.

"Complain all you want. At least you _have_ hair," growled Burter.

On the other hand, this fog did not bother King Cold at all. He kept his arms folded, his eyes showing complete seriousness. In fact, his scouter detected three life forces whose power levels were still stable and significantly high. King Cold said to himself, "These Saiyans are definitely not ordinary."

Recoome and Guldo stood beside each other and tried to see if their opponents were still there. There were no signs of their presences and so, they believed they had already won. Guldo felt relieved, knowing he will not have to deal with Bardock ever again.

Yet, they were all too wrong. Once the fog faded, Goku, Raditz, and Bardock remained. Goku was on the ground, his arms crossed and up to his chest, seeing how he had switched to defensive mode and was able to shield himself entirely from Recoome's blasts. Raditz was seen standing on a small canyon with his arms folded. He barely had a few scratches on his body and armor.

"What? No way!" Recoome's mouth opened wide.

Vegeta was especially shocked. "I can't believe this…Recoome's technique should've blown them to space dusts, but they're not fazed at all."

Just seeing these Saiyans he claimed to be nothing but low-leveled soldiers overcoming such obstacles, their strengths reaching new heights not even a royal elite himself can reach, he felt exasperated from just having this unbearable thought engraved in his mind.

"All right!" Gohan was glad his family was doing okay.

"Phew," Krillin wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Well, I should've never doubted them at all."

Burter and Jeice were shocked to witness how these Saiyans were able to survive Recoome's almost inescapable technique.

Guldo gulped hard. "Geez, I should've known it was too early to celebrate. Huh?"

They did not realize that Bardock had suddenly reappeared behind him and Recoome. The moment they turned around, Recoome was already hit when Bardock sent a sharp sidekick to his back. He then followed with a turning hook kick to Guldo, ramming him against his comrade.

"Augh!" Recoome was in pain, but it was not enough to hinder him yet. As the two were being blown away, Recoome then turned to Guldo and nodded to him, giving him a signal.

Bardock had no time to waste. He pursued them, determined to end this battle quick. Raditz and Goku rushed towards them as well as they prepared to make their assault; however, Guldo took a big inhale and he yelled, "Time Freeze!" in just a snap, everything stopped except for Guldo who fell accidentally on his back. He kept holding his breath though, providing himself enough time to distance from his enemies. He then smirked to see that Recoome had ended up back in the skies whose hands were already up in the air, gathering enough power to launch another fearsome beam that can annihilate Bardock, Raditz, and Goku. It was a kind of teamwork he and Recoome were famous for. While Guldo uses his psychic abilities to stop time, Recoome will somehow rapidly get behind his opponents and plan an immediate attack. Once Guldo lets time run again, Recoome would have already finished his technique and would definitely catch his opponents off-guard.

Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were still frozen in place, unaware of what just happened.

Once Guldo felt he was far enough from their foes, he then let out his breath to resume time.

At the end, Bardock ended up attacking no one. Instead, he slid on the ground, his feet sliding off dust. Raditz and Goku came to a complete halt after noticing that Recoome and Guldo were nowhere in sight.

Recoome whistled to get their attention. "I'm here! Hah, hah!" at that point, he unleashed an immense, energy wave of power towards the three Saiyans. They had little time to react, yet, their reflexes were lightning-fast, they vanished and reappeared much higher up in the skies, to the point they were within the clouds. Recoome missed his target and instead, his attack struck the ground, waking another explosion and allowing another quake to wreck the battlefield.

The rest had to keep up with their balances. They also must endure another period of distracting smoke and fog.

Jeice covered his mouth again with a napkin. "Such a nuisance. I seriously need to take a shower after this!"

Krillin, Gohan, and Elder Moori were coughing excessively, but it did not last long. The three then looked up to find that Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were floating high up there.

Vegeta tightened his fists. "Victory is far too long to be grasped. As long as Guldo can stop time, _anyone_ will a difficult time breaking through their teamwork."

Recoome began to look around in this mist, but only to find that his opponents had disappeared once again. "Huh? Where did they go? Don't tell me they hid like a bunch of scaredy cats. I'm just getting warmed up here!"

"These guys are Saiyans. They're too stubborn to not give up," Guldo reminded him.

Burter's scouter easily pinpointed their location though and he informed his comrades about it.

King Cold shifted his focus to the perpetual skies above him. His scouter had calculated the Saiyans' power levels and found out that their strengths had increased by a thousand more. This information did not cause any anxiety to the king, however. In fact, he was finding this to be very interesting. A smirk was seen on his face. "So, it's true. Saiyans do get stronger every time they fight. No wonder they're a warrior race that a lot of species feared…even Frieza feared them."

While floating with the clouds, Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were taking this time to come up with a new plan.

"That weird, skulking creature has the power to time stop. Raditz, I'm sure you know about that," Bardock assumed.

"Yeah," Raditz said. "He's the weakest of all members, but he has sly moves."

"Hmm," Goku started to think. "If that's the case, we'll have to fight fire with fire then."

Bardock and Raditz asked what plan he has in mind then.

"Their teamwork's effective, but if we just copy what they do, then we can easily beat them. Notice how he has to take a big breath in before he freezes time?" asked Goku. "It may take only a few seconds, but if we just find the precise moment to position ourselves for an attack already right at the moment when he says to freeze time, and when time starts moving again, our attacks should all be set to go to take him and his comrade down. What do you guys think?"

"Basically, you're saying that we should do the same strategy that Recoome's doing. Should work," Raditz believed.

Bardock slowly smirked. "Let's go then."

Without any delay, the three took great swiftness, rapidly making their way back towards the battleground. Their auras emerged and they left a jet of air behind as they hurried towards their enemies.

Recoome immediately saw them returning to the battle site. "Aah, there they are. This is too easy. Guldo!"

Guldo waited for that right moment to hold his breath and once he did, he stopped time once more. Everything froze except for the time master himself.

" _You small fries, prepare to die now. Heh, heh, heh…wh-what?"_ however, Guldo realized something strange. Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were nowhere to be found. _"Oh crud! They disappeared. Where the heck did they go? They can't hide for long."_

Guldo tried to look left and right, up and down, but he could not find his opponents. He noticed though a faint image in the skies that almost looked like a person had been there, but had already faded and its full, physical form can no longer be seen; only remnants of it.

" _Dang it really, are you kidding me? They could be anywhere then!_ " cried Guldo in his mind. He tried to find a safe place to hide, but he realized that fatigue was already catching up with him. Trying to run and hold his breath to stop time simultaneously was making him exhausted too easily. At the end, he had to take a breather. He stopped holding his breath, allowing time to run again.

"Aah!" Guldo realized what he did. He gasped in fright.

Recoome had both of his arms drawn back, readying to release another barrage of energy blasts, but once he unleashed them, they just hit rocks and boulders instead. "Wha-?"

Abruptly, Goku appeared above him without warning. While in his Kaioken state, he went for a quick, driving palm strike in just a split second, his power bursting in mist-like, red colors. Recoome did not anticipate this at all and was successfully hit. Raditz then suddenly came below him as he did a graceful, yet heavy back-flip, striking his entire chest and bringing him towards to the ground faster.

Bardock then reappeared and with a grin on his face, he was about to make his move. Recoome somehow gained back his concentration and he tried to throw a punch to Bardock's face to break him, yet the Saiyan warrior grabbed his arm, lifted his left foot and kicked him directly to his abdomen, pitching him straight towards Guldo.

"Waah!" Guldo screamed, trying to make a run for it.

It was too late, however, as Recoome collided against Guldo and were both blown away by full force. Goku then appeared again while in his Kaioken form still. With just a lift of his right hand, he sent an astonishing shockwave to them both, adding more force to their flight and the two crashed to a nearby canyon, inflicting damage to them.

"Oh yeah, they got them!" Krillin made a fist.

"Awesome!" Gohan exclaimed.

Burter and Jeice were brought to even more shock.

"Recoome! Guldo! What in the world are you doing?!" Burter questioned.

Jeice thought there was a reason why their comrades had easily been inflicted damage upon. "Rrrgh, they're obviously not payin' attention. Probably they ate too many sweets before we got here. The sugar rush is distracting them!"

"You're really _certain_ that that's the case, Jeice?" Burter knew his theory was very far-fetched. He used his scouter to calculate the power levels of their enemies, but this information only added more to his confusion. The numbers were still low. Perhaps Burter was missing the infrequent moments of surprising, escalating strengths as these three Saiyans started to fight.

Raditz and Bardock stood beside Goku again. The three of them waited for the next moves of their opponents.

"I'm guessing you're used to the Kaioken technique now, aren't you?" asked Bardock.

Goku nodded. "Yep, so no more worries about my body not being able to handle it. I've already surpassed that obstacle."

Raditz folded his arms. "Good. Now, let's end this battle."


	24. Massive Will

Episode 69

Massive Will

 **Dear readers**

 **I would just like to thank you all for your support, any ideas for my story, for your helpful and positive feedback, and for just reading my stories! If you find some of your ideas in any of the chapters, give yourself a pat on the back 'cause I thought they were really nice ideas. Thanks again and happy reading!**

"HYAH!" Goku immediately went for a straight punch, hitting Recoome's abdomen. Recoome tried to retaliate with a punch of his own, only to be parried by Goku again. At that moment, he switched back to his Kaioken form. Bending his legs and arms, his crimson aura gradually expanding, he went for a tremendous knee-strike, his attack leaving a dazzling spark behind. Recoome's head was jerked back. Goku then did a crescent-like back-flip and his left hand threw another fist, which emitted a white spark.

"Ow!" Recoome held his aching face.

Guldo attempted to prepare another time freeze technique to stop their opponents, so that he and his companion can have time to re-strategize themselves; however, Raditz suddenly teleported in front of him and sent a strong kick to his neck, following with a shockwave from his palm, blowing Guldo away.

Bardock then appeared and did a powerful kick to Recoome's chest, making him crash towards a canyon, scattering pieces of it everywhere.

Goku chuckled. "Heh, heh, well, that was easy."

Bardock placed his hands on his hips.

Raditz resurfaced on the top of a canyon to get a better view of his opponents.

Recoome held his aching head. He stood up, feeling lightheaded. "Oh, you really packed a punch there. I'm starting to get a little annoyed now. And you won't like me when I get really annoyed," then, he started to lecture Guldo. "Hey, Guldo, what's the big deal? You're letting these punks stop you from using your stop time thingie."

Guldo stood up and tried to catch his breath. "Didn't I warn you? These guys are a lot tougher than they look! Rrrgh! I would've joined that Ginyu Fitness Club last year, but no. I have to go to that stupid chilling diet!" he started to complained about his lack of exercise. Guldo believed that if he were to lose a few pounds, he could escape from his enemies faster.

"Diet?" Burter heard what he said and he began to laugh. "It looks to me you haven't lost that much weight."

"Tell me something, Guldo. Must I come down and kill them for ya? You're wasting too much time!" Jeice questioned him; Guldo's feebleness will get them nowhere.

"I have to admit though, I kinda enjoy seeing Guldo's blabby tail get whipped," Burter laughed a little.

"Why are you two making fun of me?!" asked Guldo. "If you have to laugh at me, go laugh at Recoome also. He's being stupid for letting these Saiyans gain the upper-hand."

"Don't call me 'stupid'!" Recoome demanded.

"Okay, here's the deal. If you two can't beat these Saiyans, then you both are gonna get kicked out of the Ginyu Force!" Jeice smirked. "And not to mention lose the spot in the bowling team!"

Recoome shook his head. "No! I like bowling. You can't take that away from me!"

Guldo became angry with Jeice and Burter. "Why not you two get down here and fight these Saiyans yourselves and see how tricky they really are!"

"What are you saying? You're tellin' me you're afraid then?" Jeice challenged him.

Guldo was silenced and he could not say another word. All he could do now was to snarl and show his teeth to his companions. He just hated them for teasing him around like that.

On the other hand, King Cold paid no heed to the Ginyu Force and to their struggles and trivial arguments. He was more so interested in the power of the Saiyans. He continued to stand there, keeping track of the Saiyans' growing strengths.

As for Vegeta, he continued to stand in awe. Goku, Bardock, and Raditz were putting very little effort in taking down the Ginyu Force. He questioned more about their mysterious powers in which he imagined could never exist in only third-class warriors.

More hatred and envy burnt in his heart, it was maddening.

"Well, come to think about it, Gohan," Krillin began. "With your dad, your uncle, and grandfather fighting the Ginyu Force, they're actually proving short work of them. They're basically weak, that's what!"

Gohan smiled. "Yeah, they're not as strong as they look. I'm really glad they're here now."

Elder Moori continued to stand close to Gohan and Krillin, but at the back of his mind, he was still worried for his people, Dende, and Cargo.

Bulma, Cargo, and Dende were back in the hideout and had to stay there for the rest of the time. The three had not said a word ever since their friends left with Vegeta.

Bulma was near the window, looking out of it. She was still fretting. Finally, she spoke, "I still can't believe this. Bardock, why did you let Vegeta make his wish?"

Cargo and Dende were sitting quietly on the couch. Cargo had to correct her though. "Wish? No, no one has made any wishes yet."

"How do you know?" asked Bulma.

"But you should know," Dende told her. "You did say that you have your own dragon back on Earth, right? And you know that when the dragon gets summoned, the skies get darker and there might also be rain. I'm saying that these things haven't happened yet."

Bulma realized she had completely overlooked this aspect. "Oh yes, you're right! Man, why would I forget about that? So it must mean Bardock hasn't let Vegeta made his wish yet. Hmm, Bardock must have a plan then, but what is it? He can be so unpredictable sometimes."

"Well, I just hope none of our enemies would get their way," Cargo wished.

Bardock stared at his youngest son and noticed him switching back to his Kaioken form effortlessly, but he realized he was not using the full extents of this technique at all. "You're hiding some of that strength, aren't you?"

Goku looked towards his father and smiled. "I have to. I can't waste all my energy. I'm saving my breath for more major battles."

His father remembered his visions again and that strong, inner feeling, that intuition which told him before that he will need Goku's help eventually. It was soon unfolding right before his eyes. He could see many connections now between his visions and his youngest son.

Goku explained to him, "King Kai told me that I mustn't face Frieza and his father, but you guys are here on Namek. I'd _never_ abandon you all like that. I have to come here and make sure we get out of Namek alive."

Bardock was surprised to know he was already informed about the two tyrants. To hear his words, there was a strong sense of duty and fidelity in them, Bardock thought. At least his son here had heard about the wrath of Frieza and King Cold, but he obviously did not know the history behind the two tyrants…or more like, he had not completely understood yet the great deal of damage and emotional pain they had inflicted upon the Saiyan race. He was not there when their home planet was destroyed obviously, but he hoped that Goku would soon come to understand his true purpose for being here.

Bardock felt like he must tell him now what that was.

"Hmm? What's up, Dad?" asked Goku.

"Kakarot," Bardock was about to say what it was.

"Take this!" Recoome suddenly yelled.

Bardock and Goku became side-tracked, but they tried to react as fast as they can; however, Recoome had immediately formed a flash of light from the inside of his throat. He chanted the words, "Recoome…Eraser Gun!"

A cylindrical, massive beam was launched towards Bardock and Goku. They readied themselves to deflect it or cancel it, but fortunately, Raditz came just in time and battled with Recoome's Eraser Gun. With only his left hand, he prevented the attack from touching his father and younger brother.

Raditz slowly smirked. "Heh, heh…RARGH!" with haste, he charged forward, bringing Recoome's Eraser Gun with him. Surprisingly, he molded his opponent's technique into an energy sphere instead and with it, he punched Recoome straight to the face. Recoome was blown back, almost falling to the ground. He held his face while it seemed like there was smoke coming out of it.

Jeice was surprised. "What the? How in the world did he do that?"

"Recoome's attack didn't even hurt him at all!" exclaimed Burter.

King Cold was the only enemy in the battlefield who seemed to be smiling for the Saiyans' gaining victory. "…interesting. I've never seen a tactic like that and to think he was weakened from my Full-Powered Death Beam before. These Saiyans can learn a lot during combat."

Recoome finally released his hands from his face. His face was thankfully still the same in structure and shape except for this huge, painful lump at the side of his cheek. Unfortunately for him, he had a few broken and missing teeth.

Guldo bit his lips. "Oh man, now they've really done it!"

"Aw, my teeth!" realized Recoome. "Vegeta might've messed up my hair, but why it had to be my precious teeth?" he rubbed his jaw to lessen the pain somehow. "Consider yourselves lucky that I'm not fully mad yet. I happen to have a very good dentist back home."

Goku turned to Raditz. "Oh, wow, thanks, Bro. Dad and I were completely distracted there for a moment. He…he was about to tell me something," he looked at his father again.

"Maybe you two can talk about it later," Raditz said. "We have to deal with these idiots first."

Bardock nodded. "Raditz's right. Let's keep our focus on this for now."

Jeice was beginning to question the capabilities of his comrades. _"This is strange. I was really convinced they ate too many sweets before they got here, but that was one of Recoome's most powerful techniques and yet, Raditz just beat it down like it was nothing!"_

Burter was sweating a bit. "Come on, they better start getting serious about this before they're the first ones to fall."

King Cold sensed the uneasiness coming from the Ginyu Force, but he really had no pity for them.

Recoome soothed his jaw one more time. "Hey, Guldo, do something, will ya?"

Guldo gasped in surprise as he took a while to react. Then, without warning, he fired another paralysis blast towards the three Saiyans. Raditz and Goku were able to get out of the way, but Bardock was hit by it. He was chained, once again, in this strong bind of paralysis.

"Dad!" both Raditz and Goku cried.

"Now it's time to end this!" with no time to waste, Recoome immediately headed towards him, his right fist drawn back, ready to send him into a real world of unending pain.

Guldo kept his hands raised towards Bardock to implement more power and effectiveness into his paralysis attack, so that Bardock will not escape from it too easily. Guldo can be seen sweating a little.

Recoome was only a foot away from Bardock, his fist ready for a brute, forceful punch, but Bardock was able to catch his hand before it hit him. He broke through Guldo's binding powers once again.

Bardock presented Recoome with a grin before attacking him directly on the face. Recoome fell to the ground again, almost unconscious from Bardock's vigor and might.

"No way! My paralysis is not affecting them at all!" cried Guldo.

"You should've known that a long time ago, you fool," Bardock reminded Guldo about his capability of being able to break through his psychic powers without breaking a sweat.

Guldo began to back off, his legs trembling with fear. Burter and Jeice were now speechless. They were starting to realize that they might be in trouble all this time.

At King Kai's Planet, the training of King Kai's students continued. Piccolo was spending time meditating under a tree. Bubbles and Gregory were with King Kai as they happily watched him eat his lunch. Yamcha was doing some push-ups with one arm with Chiaotzu sitting on Yamcha's back to add a little weight. Tien was building his muscles by using barbells.

While Piccolo meditated, he sensed something going on with Planet Namek. He was relieved to know that Goku had arrived, but he could sense a far greater trouble and this was not the Ginyu Force he was worrying about. It was Frieza and King Cold.

Piccolo closed his eyes more. _"I hope they can hold on for a while longer. This Frieza and his father…they're more perilous than what my senses can tell me."_

King Kai, while eating his lunch, noticed Piccolo's sudden change of expression. _" Piccolo, you can feel the danger that's going on in Namek. I know how badly you want to help your friends, but from here…I'm afraid there's nothing you can do."_

Inside Frieza's spaceship, the emperor itself was waiting in the control room, which had now been damaged by Vegeta with his DragonBalls all gone. He was waiting for a very long time, yet there was nothing that can cool his temper.

"Those meddling fools," Frieza growled under his breath, his mind remembering Vegeta and Raditz, how they had thwarted his plans too many times. He then remembered about Bardock who stood up against him and endeavored to prevent him from destroying the Saiyans' home planet. After hearing that he was alive after all these years, Frieza was questioning his own authority and the hidden strengths of the Saiyans he spared or rather, survived.

Just then, Appule came inside the room, saluted to him, and said something almost unexpected to Frieza's ears. "Sire, we have good news! Captain Ginyu had just arrived…along with Zarbon and Dodoria. They have all seven DragonBalls!"

A sudden shift in mood occurred in Frieza's mind. He turned around with surprised eyes. He could not believe him at first, but Appule persuaded him to come see for himself.

Frieza hurried outside. Once he was out, his guards patrolling the exterior of his ship bowed to him in great respect. Then, it was just as Appule had told him. He found Captain Ginyu as well as Zarbon and Dodoria with Ginyu carrying all seven DragonBalls with him.

They landed in front of Frieza, but Zarbon and Dodoria were nervous to see their master again.

Frieza was more focused on the DragonBalls though. "You have all seven of them."

"Yes, Lord Frieza," Ginyu nodded. "You know the Ginyu Force will never let you down. With the help of your father, we were able to retrieve all seven DragonBalls. Now your wish shall be granted after all."

The tyrant now felt satisfied and relieved. He then eyed Zarbon and Dodoria, his stare making them jump in surprise. They had bruises and wounds all over them, and Frieza can already predict who gave them these injuries.

Frieza had a slight change of expression again. "I'm guessing that my top henchmen were able to help you as well…even though they are long overdue with their mission?" he asked Ginyu.

Zarbon and Dodoria gulped hard. Ginyu looked at them for a moment and then told Frieza, "Oh, uh, well, they protected the DragonBalls at least…while we're traveling towards here, heh, heh."

Frieza gave another long stare.

Zarbon felt he needed to say something. "My lord, we express our deepest apologies for taking so long to return from our mission. You see, we made a shocking discovery. Do you remember Bardock? He-he's here on this planet!"

"That's right," Dodoria forced to bring out his voice as well. "He's alive after all these years!"

Frieza suddenly slammed his tail on the ground, as he demanded them to stop talking. "You fools, you think I don't know that? I've already known about it through the Ginyu Force. I don't need to be reminded twice."

Zarbon and Dodoria put their heads down in shame and fear while Ginyu just looked at them.

Frieza may be angry towards his right-hand men, but he was more focused on the DragonBalls that had all been brought back to him. All his thinking now was making his wish as soon as he can. He did not really care about his underlings at the moment.

Frieza placed his hands behind his back. His feverish eyes glistened darkly. "Appule," he ordered.

Appule stepped forward and waited for his command.

Frieza said with anticipation, "Get the village elders. It's about time I make my wish."


	25. Difficult Trials

Episode 70

Difficult Trials

 **Hello, readers**

 **It's been a long time. I had many things to do for the past few months including studies and exams (not to mention, having to deal with lack of inspiration, but I think I've finally claimed it back). I apologize for not updating the story in a while and that I uploaded only one chapter today, but I still hope you enjoy it.**

 **Just to know my readers a bit more, I'd like to ask you all a question (it's okay if you don't want to answer). Who is your favorite DragonBall character and why? I'm just curious to see what your responses are. I'm sure you already know that Bardock is my number one favorite because of his personality, his skill in fighting, and his Super Saiyan transformation is just awesome.**

 **Again, any positive and/or helpful feedback are welcome. Rude and offensive comments will be reported and/or deleted. Let's do our best to respect one another always.**

 **Happy reading!**

 _Thump!_

Recoome crashed towards the ground again after attempting to dominate the three Saiyans on a one-on-one match, just relying on his full power and force to give them injuries they deserved, but Goku, Bardock, and Raditz still showed no signs of struggle. Recoome left a heavy crater on the island while his companion, Guldo, just stood there in shock.

"Ow!" Recoome cried. "Gah! I feel really, really bad."

Burter was becoming irritated with them while Jeice was starting to fret more and more. Probably Recoome had been using close to one-hundred percent of his power to get himself in par with Goku, Raditz, and Bardock while Guldo was using every possible trick and tactic from his array of psychic abilities, but the three Saiyans were learning quickly from them, counterattacking their every move and strategy.

"Get up already!" shouted Burter. "These are just low-class Saiyans and you're losing to someone like them?!"

Recoome finally stood up, but almost lost balance and he fell to one knee. All these wounds were all over his body. Recoome finally looked up, but there seemed to be a gleam in his eyes, this rage about to emerge. Guldo sensed this from his comrade. Recoome did not look too happy this time. "You puny Saiyans, how dare you do this to me. Now you're gonna regret it!"

Bardock, Goku, and Raditz kept floating in mid-air, looking down on their enemies. Goku relaxed his own power and switched back from his Kaioken. He felt that he might not need to use his Kaioken at all, not until he was certain he would be fighting more powerful opponents than the ones he was currently facing. So far, the Ginyu Force was the least of his concerns.

Goku laughed a bit. "Man, if this is all what the Ginyu Force has, they won't last for long. They better think of something else quick if they wanna match to a Saiyan's power. Heh, heh!"

Raditz crossed his arms. "Don't pity them, Kakarot. You need to see beyond your enemy before he takes advantage of you," he hated to see this soft side again in his younger brother, which sometimes showed during times of important battles against superior enemies.

"But you have to admit," Goku said, "you gotta give them credit for trying. They're pretty bold for challenging warriors like us," Goku reminded Raditz of his own words before, about Saiyans being the most powerful warrior race in the universe; therefore, Goku was not that worried at all. He was not even thinking about the possibility of losing this fight.

"Yes, but I'm telling you now…you need to take this seriously," Raditz's eyes suddenly shifted towards King Cold. He felt his energy again and he was still surprised by the massive power he was carrying.

Goku turned to him. "But I _am_ taking this seriously. What's wrong, Bro?"

Bardock felt Raditz's frustrations and Goku's confusion. Raditz and Goku stared at each other for a moment. Soon, their father came to the both of them.

"Keep your chins up," Bardock told them. "They're coming!"

Recoome was flying towards them, performing the Recoome Renegade Bomber again. Another bombardment of energy blasts was sent towards the Saiyans, but Goku, Bardock, and Raditz were evading all of them like it was nothing.

Guldo watched Recoome desperately, hoping he would gain the upper-hand somehow. He then noticed Recoome giving him some kind of signal. Guldo took this chance to hold his breath and stop time once more while the Saiyans were busy dodging Recoome's endless barrage of explosive blasts.

At the right moment, Guldo used his technique to freeze time again. This time, the Saiyans were too busy in trying to steer clear of Recoome's blasts, they had completely forgotten about Guldo. Guldo, while holding his breath, noticed that Recoome had disappeared and had already positioned himself behind the Saiyans to get his chance to strike back. Guldo showed a smirk before letting time run again.

Bardock deflected his last blast, but immediately, he felt someone behind him. It was Recoome and he was about to attack him; however, Bardock blocked his attack just in time, catching Recoome surprised.

"Wha-?!" Recoome said.

"Hmph," Bardock grabbed his arm, pulled him over and while Recoome flapped his arms in air to try to regain his balance, Bardock went straight for a kick to his back, hurling Recoome towards the ground.

As he crashed there, Bardock dashed towards him like the wind, persisted to take him down. Recoome immediately got up just in time to engage him in a rapid blows crash. Recoome tried to retaliate, but only to be hit to the stomach. Bardock was about to give him a fist to the face this time, but the moment he landed that blow, it was not as strong as it should be after a vision distracted him again. He saw that strange creature once more that almost resembled Frieza. He pointed at the screen with his index finger and at the tip of it, a fatal blast was released.

"Take this!" Recoome successfully counterattacked and knee-struck Bardock to his abdomen at full power. Bardock was stopped for a moment and once again, received another vision. He saw a landscape that was burning and being flooded with meteors falling from the darkened, clouded skies.

"Dad!" cried Goku.

Recoome thought he was finally gaining the upper-hand. He then forcefully punched Bardock to the cheek, his head jerking back.

Raditz's aura immediately surrounded him. He decided to take action to help his father. Meanwhile, Guldo thought this was his chance to intervene. Suddenly, he used his paralysis powers to freeze Raditz at the spot.

"Hey!"Goku yelled and then, he threw an energy blast at Guldo.

"You-!" Guldo saw this coming and he deflected that blast, but once he did that, Goku suddenly appeared in front of him, giving him a high kick, shooting him towards the skies, in front of Recoome. Guldo collided against him, distracting him from his fight.

"Tch!" Bardock was irritated that his visions had to bother him this time. Nevertheless, he took this chance to strike both Recoome and Guldo down with his fury and they made a huge impact with the ground, making a smoky crater below them.

Raditz was released from Guldo's paralysis. He began to raise his right hand, a violet, white beam emerging from his palm. It increased in power, quickly becoming a burst of dynamic energy.

"Saturday Crush!" Raditz released his attack.

Recoome and Guldo tried to get up and then, they panicked to see Raditz's technique rushing towards them. They barely escaped from the mighty blast and the explosion caused them more injuries and wounds.

Burter and Jeice were getting more anxious. Krillin, Gohan, and Elder Moori were cheering for their allies. Vegeta continued to stand in shock and frustration that these low-leveled soldiers were not challenged at all by the Ginyu Force. King Cold stood at neither side of their enemies and his own companions. He only watched with interest for the Saiyans' growing power.

Raditz, Bardock, and Goku stood together, prepared to end the first round. Bardock, however, was more occupied about his vision earlier, particularly the one with the burning landscape and the meteors falling. He did not know which planet it was, but he did not like the feel of it.

At Frieza's spaceship, Appule and a few other men had gotten the village elders. They dragged them outside the ship and pushed them towards the DragonBalls. No matter how much the elders tried, their amount of resistance cannot challenge the terrifying power that Frieza held. Frieza stared at them with ruby eyes, fervently waiting for his wish to come true.

The village elders stood in front of the gleaming DragonBalls. They wished that if they were stronger, they would have left Frieza and his men in the dust and claimed back what was rightfully theirs. The Namekians then slowly stared into Frieza's eyes.

"Well?" Frieza wondered why they were just standing there. "You want me to leave this place, do you? Go, make me immortal, and I'll leave this planet for good. I'll find other planets that are more to my liking than this puny, dying world."

The village elders had to remind themselves that villains would say such things even if they were to get what they want. Tsuno, he knew, was the one who made this proposal. Should he grant Frieza's wish or not? For the sake of his own people?

Tsuno and the village elders finally gathered around the DragonBalls with so much fear and dread. There was another moment of hesitation before facing their shaking palms towards the gleaming orbs. Frieza and his men stood and watch, waiting for this moment to happen.

Tsuno spoke first. He was sweating nervously. "Oh, great and mighty Porunga…we ask you to-"

 _SLAM!_

Frieza hits his tail hard against the ground, causing a slight tremor, making his subordinates and the Namekians shiver including Ginyu himself.

"Fools, don't think I'll be deceived that easily," Frieza told them. "I know you have to speak in the Namekian tongue to summon the dragon. Go on! Let me hear it!"

The Namekians were surprised how he was able to know this information. They assumed that his father, King Cold, must have known about this and passed it on to Frieza.

The village elders tried again. This time, they began to speak in their language. There was more shake in their voices, they felt they could burst and cry. Their hearts were pounding while Frieza's heart was pounding with more anticipation and excitation. He was envisioning in his head, him being the most powerful, immortal tyrant that has ever lived in the entire universe.

After the Namekians said their chant to summon the dragon…

…there was nothing.

Even after a long wait, there was still nothing.

Frieza's men and the overlord himself became very confused. He stared at the village elders, but they kept their heads down, their lips sealed, not looking at him.

"Nothing is happening," Ginyu whispered.

The silence was making Frieza mad. The galactic overlord had to ask the elders, "Where's the dragon? He's supposed to appear, right? I told you to summon him!"

Tsuno interrupted him. His eyes looked back towards his. "We cannot grant you what you seek."

Frieza became confused. "What? What do you mean? What exactly is going on?! You better give me a very convincing answer now or else, I'll blow up this entire PLANET!" he screamed.

Elder Tsuno remained calm, however. "The Grand Elder, the one who made the DragonBalls…if you must know, he's very sick. Therefore, his illness is affecting the way the DragonBalls function. With such affliction, the dragon cannot be summoned. The power of the dragon depends on the power and current health of his creator."

Frieza stared into the eyes of the Namekian, to see if there was any lie in them. He found nothing, but he was also unsure about his observations. "You're not lying to me, are you?" he questioned them seriously.

Tsuno said nothing this time, but he slowly looked away from Frieza's enraged eyes.

Frieza had no time interrogating these Namekians any further. He was exasperated that he must wait yet again before having his wish granted. He began to tap on his red scouter (he was wearing it all this time) and remembering what his father told him where the Grand Elder was exactly located, he used those coordinates to track him down.

"If what you useless Namekians say it's true, then I'm going to visit your Grand Elder, bring the medics with me, and take him back to full health," Frieza said. Of course, he was not doing this for them. He was doing it for himself. "I will not wait any longer! I will not let my chance for immortality slip away now."

The village elders looked up in panic. Elder Tsuno begged. "No, stop! Leave the Grand Elder alone! Why do you feel you must always get your way? Our Grand Elder is suffering for too long…please spare him."

"You think I'm going to kill him? Didn't you hear me earlier?" asked Frieza, eyes still blazing. "You should feel honored that I'll treat whatever sickness that old man suffers from."

Frieza turned to Captain Ginyu. "Ginyu, keep a lookout on the DragonBalls. I'd hate to have to find them again if anything should happen to these precious orbs."

Ginyu saluted to him. "Yes, Lord Frieza! I will make sure that your DragonBalls are carefully guarded."

Frieza then slowly turned towards Dodoria and Zarbon. "You two have miserably failed me, but I'll give you one last chance to redeem yourselves. You can handle a bunch of weak Namekians, can you? Don't let them get away from my ship or else, you'll be joining them in their graves."

Dodoria and Zarbon were sweating profusely, but they kept a firm stance still. They nodded their heads and replied softly. "Yes, Sir…"

Frieza immediately went inside his hovering pod after calling in two armed medics from his ship.

Elder Tsuno tried to stop Frieza again. "No, please! Our Grand Elder, don't!" but his pleas were unheard and immediately, Frieza and the medics left to head to Guru's place.

Tsuno fell to his knees and cried while the other village elders were anxiously running through their minds of what could possibly happen to the Grand Elder this time. In actuality, Tsuno and his fellow brothers had lied to Frieza all along. Although Guru's sickness was definitely true, his illness, in no way, was even the cause of the DragonBalls' "inactivity." Before the village elders were summoned before Frieza, they agreed they would never let Frieza get his wish for immortality. The chant that they did was not even the words to call Porunga. They simply recited a kind of poem in the Namekian tongue and made it seem like that this was the password in unlocking the DragonBalls. Of course, Frieza, having no knowledge of the Namekian language, did not understand what they said. The village elders hoped that this would force Frieza to leave the planet after this, but instead, their plan backfired and now, Frieza was heading over to Guru. Who knows what Frieza could do to the Great Elder once the two meet?

Elder Tsuno desperately pleaded in his mind, trying to connect with Guru and Nail through telepathy, telling them that they desperately needed their help and that Frieza was on his way to get them.

On the other side of Namek, even though Guru was very sick, he could never fail to hear his children's pleas and cries for help. He had heard Tsuno in his own thoughts. They were faint to hear, but they were absolutely there. Guru then could sense a great evil was coming his way and this could be none other than Frieza.

Nail noticed Guru's expression. He walked up to him. "What's the matter, Guru?"

Guru suddenly ordered him, "Nail, you may be the only one who can stop Frieza for now. Listen, he is on his way here. Please, get out there and stop that selfish tyrant or else, more innocent lives will be taken by his hands."

Nail realized what he meant. At first, he hesitated because he knew Guru will be left alone if he were to leave and he was his only guardian, but Guru insisted that he should go and save the lives of their people. Nail then obeyed him and immediately began to head his way out. Before he left, Guru stopped him for a moment. Nail turned around and he realized that Guru's eyes were filled with tears.

The Great Elder began to apologize to him as well as to the rest of the Namekians, to his own children. "I am very sorry to all of you. I was deceived all along. Thus, I had allowed evil to easily step into our beloved home."

At that moment, Nail realized that Guru had probably met these evil men in the past, but was tricked into thinking that they were good. He remembered those mysterious space travelers who claimed to be part of an organization that helps other planets in need. They were the ones who also gave them those genetically-modified Ajissa plants. Nail's hands curled into fists, but it was not rage he felt, but mercy for Guru.

Nail began to say, "Guru, please, do not blame yourself at all. _I_ would've also been deceived if I was in your place."

Guru said nothing this time.

"Do not worry, Guru. I will stop Frieza for good and all those who follow him. Our planet will be back to the way it was. I promise," Nail tried to give him a smile before leaving as to give him some strength in his mind and heart. He then departed from the chambers, leaving a saddened Guru behind.

In the skies and through the bellowing winds, Nail was trying to pick up Frieza's energy. Though there were still distances apart, Nail must always be on the lookout for Frieza could come anywhere and at anytime. Nail, unfortunately, was clueless about the tyrant's power. For now, he just knew that he must stop him or else.

Recoome and Guldo were brought down again by their Saiyan opponents. Guldo was out of breath and Recoome was on his ways, both were injured greatly, these wounds were getting to them.

Raditz spoke, "Give it up now unless you want more beating from us."

Recoome suddenly began to get very angry. He bit his lips hard. He looked up towards the Saiyans again. Guldo noticed his comrade's expression and he began to sweat. Recoome was not the one to mess with if he were to become angry.

Jeice's scouter turned on and it started to calculate Recoome's power level. "It's growing now. I think the Saiyans are gonna be ones who'll get the beatin' from Recoome this time."

"You got that right," Burter said who felt slightly relieved. "Recoome might turn the tables. No one likes it when he gets mad."

King Cold heard this and became curious how Recoome might change the outcome of this battle.

Recoome suddenly shouted at Goku, Bardock, and Raditz. With his scraped hand on his damaged chest plate, he stood up, blood dripping from his face and body and declared, "Now you're gonna get it now, you puny monkeys!"

He curled himself like a ball, his knees and hands brought close to his body. Flashing lights began to appear from the center and turned into fire-like lightning bolts, which surrounded his body. Guldo backed away a bit for Recoome's growing power might hurt him, but he also had a smirk in his face.

Elder Moori, Krillin, and Gohan were trying to figure out what was going on.

"His power, it's suddenly growing!" Krillin exclaimed.

Gohan gulped hard. "It looks really dangerous!"

Vegeta growled under his breath. "Those idiots, if they claim that they're much stronger, then they should've finished Recoome and Guldo _way_ earlier than this. They're in trouble now."

"What do you mean by that?!" Krillin turned towards him, slightly angry at him for talking like that, but the Saiyan Prince did not respond this time.

The grounds began to tremble, causing some of them to almost lose their footing while Recoome was still in that position, his strength still increasing in large increments. Recoome was shaking himself, but because he was finally achieving his maximum power. Rocks began to defy gravity as they float upwards, towards the skies. Recoome then presented an evil smirk to his enemies.

Bardock and Raditz held their grounds. Goku stood there, slightly confused. "What is he doing?" he asked.

Bardock gave a grave stare. "He's getting desperate, that's what."


	26. Seizing Victory

Episode 71

Seizing Victory

 **Hello, readers! Here's another question for you, if you'd like to answer. What's your favorite DragonBall saga? Mine is the Cell Games Saga and the Shadow Dragon Saga.**

 **Happy reading!**

"Rrrgh!" the electricity around Recoome sparked violently. He was preparing for a very dangerous finisher that will certainly blow up his enemies once and for all. "Try this if you'll ever survive!" he said.

Krillin and Gohan began to back up including Elder Moori. Vegeta only stood there, frustrated and confused.

Guldo looked at Recoome for a second before deciding to retreat to his comrades. He must admit, he has never seen Recoome's technique before, but he'll follow his best judgment and just get out of his way for now.

Jeice and Burter continued to smile to themselves while King Cold looked on as calm as ever.

Goku, Bardock, and Raditz remained motionless, only staring at their opponent. Goku though sensed a very unusual vibe coming from Recoome. He quickly glanced at Krillin and Gohan. "Hey, guys, take cover!"

"Huh?" Krillin gasped.

Recoome then told his opponents, "Ultra Fighting…BOMBER!" from there, he stood up straight and raised his arms, releasing a dangerous, solar-like explosion from the center of his body. Its appearance was almost close to a nuclear explosion, he actually destroyed the entire battlefield that they were in. Vivid rays appeared for a long moment before disappearing and then, leaving behind but a disintegrated island, the remaining, burnt pieces of it drifting away in the water.

Krillin, Gohan, and Elder Moori were able to get out of the way, floating up high in the skies. Krillin shook his head, seeing how the explosion left ashes and dense clouds behind.

"Man, that was too close!" Krillin exclaimed. "You guys all right?" he asked Gohan and Moori.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gohan shook a bit.

Moori wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Yes. I'm glad that you two are fine."

Vegeta was in air as well. He was quite surprised by how Recoome could actually destroy an island. He had always heard of this technique of his, but never actually witnessed it. Vegeta noticed Jeice and Burter were floating opposite of them with their arms up to their chests. They were both laughing, thinking that they had won this fight.

Recoome was in the midst of the smoke, floating there with a huge smirk on his face. He began to cheer and laugh maliciously. "Hah, hah! Now, what you've just seen, folks, is the power of Recoome! I should've used this technique a while ago. It sure comes in handy."

Guldo was seen protecting himself with a kind of shield that he formed around him. The shield then disappeared after he realized it was quite safe now. "Did Recoome actually get them?"

Krillin and Gohan began to panic when they could not find Goku, Bardock, and Raditz anywhere. They tried sensing their life forces, but it seemed like they were not there.

"Oh no, don't tell me they were caught in that!" Krillin bit his lips.

"Daddy! Grandpa! Uncle!" Gohan called them, but there was no response.

Everyone almost believed that the Ginyu Force had won the fight until King Cold's scouter turned on, which indicated to him that it was not over. Actually, it was _far_ from over.

King Cold began to have an evil grin. He was definitely amused by the strength of a Saiyan, these _three_ in particular.

While Recoome was busy "celebrating" his victory, Guldo was the first to notice that someone seemed to be creeping up from behind him. He tried to warn Recoome. "Hey, they're not dead yet!"

"What?" Jeice and Burter were at disbelief.

"Huh?" Recoome was slightly confused. The moment he turned his head, his eyes became white as he was hit on his chest by a crushing blow, which broke his rib cage. Before he knew it, he was then struck straight to the face and was propelled towards another canyon from another island.

"Aah!" Guldo panicked. Suddenly, he, too, was presented with a two jabs on his face and then, these attacks were followed with a striking energy beam. He was knocked out instantly and he crashed with his comrade, Recoome, and they stayed on that island, leaving a crater behind from their impact.

At this time, the ashes began to fade and from there, Krillin and Gohan smiled and were relieved. They both cheered.

"All right, they did it!" Krillin made a fist.

Bardock was shown first from the fading of the ashes, as he was the one who attacked Guldo. Then, his two sons came into view who delivered the final blow to Recoome. The three Saiyans then neared towards each other, still levitating in the skies. They kept silent. Afterwards, they stared at their next victims which were Jeice and Burter.

Vegeta grunted to himself, turning his head to the side. _"I can't believe this…these third-class fighters were able to defeat both Recoome and Guldo. As much as I don't want to admit it, they will beat Jeice and Burter, too. Blast it all! How did they get so powerful?!"_

Jeice felt himself sweating again. "N-no way! There's no way they could've survived that!"

Burter growled to himself. He then used his scouter to see if their comrades were actually dead. They were not fortunately, but their energies were close to nil. "Those Saiyans really took them down. I doubt they won't be waking up 'till days later!"

"Say what?" Jeice asked. He glanced at King Cold and it surprised him more that he was just standing there, grinning to himself as he was entertaining other ideas. He felt that their king will not be helping them at all in this battle. This only added more to his worries.

"Well, at least Recoome and Guldo are not dead. If that was the case, then we'll need to come up with new poses! Only having three members won't be the same as before," Jeice believed.

Burter knew there was no time to waste. He nodded to Jeice. "If Recoome and Guldo can't kill them, then it's up to us now to deal with these Saiyans instead."

Jeice tightened his fists.

"Don't worry. With me being the fastest warrior in the universe, no matter how strong those stubborn monkeys are, speed will always outmatch strength!" Burter began to get confident.

Jeice calmed down a little and grinned slightly. "I think you're right. They'll never lay a finger on you, Burter. Round two belongs to ours!" he then got the Saiyans' attention. "You there, follow us! We'll find a new battlefield for us to settle in and make it your final resting place! Heh, heh!"

Bardock raised an eyebrow while his sons kept silent.

Jeice and Burter left immediately and went to the next island near them. King Cold simply followed them while still thinking of other ideas in his head. Vegeta and the Z-warriors made their way towards the new battle zone as well.

As Goku, Bardock, and Raditz resurfaced, Jeice and Burter stepped forward. They were to begin their next round immediately.

Jeice smirked. "You two are just really lucky today, but you won't be so lucky after you face the two of us. Prepare yourselves!"

Jeice and Burter nodded to each other as they leaped onto a plateau, one on each side of the island. The two did another exhibition again to intimidate their opponents.

"Now say 'hello' to the Ginyu Force!" Jeice yelled, doing his poses. "I'm Jeice!"

Burter introduced himself again. "I'm your worst nightmare. Prepare yourself for Burter!"

Once again, the Saiyans were only baffled by this. Bardock and Raditz were getting terribly irritated.

Goku raised an eyebrow. "Do you wanna dance…or fight?"

"Don't make a mockery out of us!" Jeice warned them. "Ready…"

"Set…," Burter also readied himself.

Altogether, they cried, "GO!"

Jeice and Burter charged towards the three Saiyans, at top and almost at equal speed.

"Look out, Daddy!" Gohan cried out.

However, Jeice and Burter did not decide to make their assault yet. They tried to distract the Saiyans by their superb speed, going to every direction, creating gust of winds and leaving their auras behind, which sometimes blended in, making a purple color. The more they did this, it was apparent that they were provoking the three of them.

"Look at these guys!" Jeice told his comrade as he was zipping around. "They can't even move."

"Hah!" Burter laughed. "They must be scared from witnessing my awesome speed. They can't keep up with me!"

After much distraction, Jeice and Burter went in for the attack, their swift moves almost lightning-speed, not even Krillin and Gohan could keep up with their own eyes. The moment Jeice had landed a seemingly sharp sidekick to Goku's chest and a fierce, swift punch from Burter to Raditz, it took them a moment to realize that the two Saiyan brothers did not feel a thing.

"Hmm?" Jeice thought he was imagining things at first.

Burter, however, decided to follow through with his attack and delivered Raditz lightning-fast kicks and punches, hoping his Space Mach Attack would distract him further, but at the end, Raditz only caught his ankle.

"Aah!" Burter gasped in surprise.

Raditz threw a ravaging punch towards his chest, pushing him back several inches. Goku took this chance to attack Jeice as well by flipping him and bringing him down to the floor with his elbow. Bardock, who was standing in-between his sons, then thrust out an immense force field from his body, ramming their enemies towards the plateaus from where they were standing on earlier. This all happened an instant and these Saiyans didn't have to move an inch from their space to counter Jeice and Burter.

Goku rubbed his head and feeling out his hair. "Wow, I hope all that wind didn't mess up my hair, but since it's so thick, it'll easily get back in place, huh?"

Raditz cannot help but grin, shaking his head, amused by his sibling's innocent remarks from time to time. Bardock fixed his red bandanna around his forehead after feeling it was a bit loose.

Jeice and Burter returned, but were already in some pain. Burter held his chest, feeling a taste of some of Raditz's power already.

Jeice scolded his comrade. "You pathetic idiot, you were too careless! Because of you, our plan stuffed up!"

Burter wobbled a bit from the pain, but argued back, "Shut up, Jeice! I wasn't the only one who got hit!"

"What I'm tryin' to say is that you need to concentrate more!" bickered Jeice. "We need to work together, combine our powers, and take them down!"

"I thought that's what we were just trying to do seconds ago!" Burter shouted more.

Krillin smiled. "Their pride is too high. They just can't accept the fact that the Ginyu Force is already losing Goku, Raditz, and Bardock."

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"But my eyes couldn't keep up with them!" Krillin exclaimed. "They're incredibly fast. I could hardly detect their movements."

"Well, Daddy, Grandpa, and Uncle are winning. It must mean they're the fastest warriors in the universe instead!"

"You can certainly conclude that, Gohan!"

Moori felt a sense of peace inside. He was confident now that their planet will be saved soon.

Vegeta could not believe that even Burter's top speed was not enough to lay a finger on his rivals. He was trying to figure out how in the world his rivals possess such powers. It was not too long ago that Raditz and Bardock could not stand to an elite's power and now, they were taking on the Ginyu Force like they were nothing. Now, there was Goku whose strength was already higher than the strength of the Saiyan Prince. And now, Goku's power was even higher than before.

Suddenly, a thought passed him, which made his feet tremble. He could never forget that memory when he saw Bardock's eyes flashing green for a second when he was fighting him back on Earth. He remembered telling to himself that there was this legend, this legend of an extraordinary warrior who held so much tapped potential that was considered mysterious, special, and most of all, so powerful.

" _Bardock, Raditz, Kakarot…there's no way those three could actually fulfill that legend! They're only low-class warriors. If someone were to achieve this ultimate power, then it should be me. I deserve to hold that power! The Prince of all Saiyans!"_ Vegeta screamed in his mind. _"If there's to be…a_ Super Saiyan _, it should be me."_

Goku notified his enemies. "We'll give you guys one last chance to leave this planet. You have caused too many harm and torture to the people living here. Go back to your ships and return to wherever you belong."

King Cold tilted his head. "This Saiyan is so unusual. He's strong indeed, but still has a big heart…he has to be careful. It can become a major flaw in him."

"You coward, are you trying to mock us again?" questioned Jeice, his fists tightening. "We will DESTROY you!"

Jeice and Burter went at it again, using the same strategy, but this time with more force, speed, and power. Their auras blended in again to make a purple color. The two attacked with all their might, but this time, the Saiyans were evading and blocking their attacks without breaking a sweat.

Burter decided to turn it up a notch. He flew towards the skies and decided to barrage the Saiyans with energy blasts, all filled with equal power. Jeice did the same as well and soon, their energy blasts began to crumble the battlefield again.

"Wait, why are they standing there?!" Gohan asked.

"Don't panic. I bet Goku has a plan," Krillin believed.

Indeed, they did have a plan. Jeice and Burter realized that their energy blasts were now being deflected. Most of them were evaded, but a few hit them, bringing them to more pain. Jeice and Burter were tiring out a little. They noticed that Goku, Bardock, and Raditz were only staring at them and it made them anxious that they had not left their positions at all. They were proving only short work of them.

Burter's scouter suddenly turned on. He picked up the call. "What?!" he responded.

It was Ginyu, but was not too pleased with his tone of voice. "The heck, Burter? Is that any way to talk to your captain?!"

He gulped hard and apologized immediately. "No, uh, sorry, Captain. Why are you calling? It's not really a good time right now to be talking to us!"

"I just wanted to know how things are going over there. Have you and King Cold obliterated those Saiyans yet?" Ginyu asked.

"Actually," Burter glanced at their opponents, "not really."

"What? But it shouldn't take you that long."

"Apparently, this is taking us _way_ too long," Burter gulped again. "I hate to admit it, but we're actually in a bind here. You see, these Saiyans got themselves a new ally to join them. They're all doing teamwork at us and it seems they're a lot stronger than they look. My scouter was wrong about them."

"Which ally? Vegeta?"

"No, someone we've never seen before. You see, Captain, they defeated both Recoome and Guldo!"

"What? No way! They did?!"

"Yeah! Jeice and I are taking them on now, but they're strangely keeping up with us."

"Hold on a second. His Majesty…isn't he lending his assistance?"

Burter glanced at King Cold. "No, he's just standing there. He only told us that he'll see whether we'll survive or not. I think he has no interest in helping us whatsoever."

Ginyu had a hard time believing his words. It was apparent King Cold did not care much about the Ginyu Force or any of Frieza's men. It seemed he had other plans in mind, but he just cannot figure out what those were.

Their conversation soon ended.

Ginyu briefly made his way towards the basement where Zarbon, Dodoria, and Appule were guarding the Namekians. They were walking around, making sure the Namekians do not leave their rooms. They were also keeping watch of the seven DragonBalls.

"Hey, you two," Ginyu said to the right-hand men of Frieza. "I contacted my men. Something urgent came up and I have to get over there as fast as I can."

"What's going on?" Dodoria asked.

"I don't need to explain. All you have to know is that the Ginyu Force is calling me, their supreme captain. You two keep an eye on the Namekians," immediately, he left the ship and headed for the battlefield.

After he left, Zarbon and Dodoria then made their way towards the main interior of the ship, where Frieza spent most of his time there. The DragonBalls were glistening under the piercing light from Namek's three suns.

Zarbon raised an eyebrow. He then called Appule and several more of Frieza's men, those who still remained in the ship, and ordered them to follow him. Dodoria was left behind to guard the Namekians.

Zarbon escorted them outside, behind the spaceship. The massive size of the dome-shaped ship casted large shadows from behind, almost swallowing them whole. Zarbon then ordered them to bury the DragonBalls as deep as they can to hide them from potential stealers.

"And hurry up before our enemies come here," Zarbon told them.

"Yes, Sir!" Frieza's men immediately went to work.

"…I'm sensing the Ginyu Force is in grave trouble instead," Zarbon said to himself as he watched the henchmen secured the DragonBalls inside the frail, dying soil of this planet.


	27. Hopeless Efforts

Episode 72

Hopeless Efforts

Bulma was trying really hard to distract herself from thinking about her friends too much. Unfortunately, she could only get more anxious whether she thought about them or not.

Cargo and Dende had awakened from their restful slumber, but only to be met with the Earthling's frustration and worries. They could not blame her for feeling like this though.

Bulma looked up towards the Namekians and tried to act normal, so as not to give any more unnecessary stress to the children. "You guys must be hungry. Would you like me to prepare food?"

"We don't eat, remember?" Cargo said. "We just need some water, please."

"Okay then," Bulma got out from her couch and poured in some iced water in two glasses in the kitchen.

Dende asked, "Are you all right, Miss?"

Bulma gave them their water. She then sat on the carpet floor, letting out a sigh. "I don't know. I'm just worried."

"I'm worried, too," Dende agreed, "but I guess it's no use trying to mope around the whole time. We'll just keep hoping for the best."

An idea suddenly hit Bulma. "That's it!"

"That's what?" asked Cargo.

"I'll make myself useful around here. I'm sure our friends will be back in no time, but we'll need a ship to head back home. I need to repair it," Bulma said.

"A ship?" Dende got out from the couch as well.

"Yes, we arrived here on a spaceship obviously. Some of Frieza's men damaged it, but I think I can still fix it," Bulma believed.

"Are you saying we should leave?" Cargo became worried. "But we should probably stay here. It may still be too dangerous for us to go outside."

Bulma went to the kitchen room and took out her box of convenient capsules from the drawer. "I think it'll be even more dangerous if we linger any longer. Vegeta was able to locate us. We might as well keep on moving."

Dende and Cargo still had their doubts.

"Don't worry. If anything should happen, I happen to have a really awesome motorcycle stored in one of these capsules," she opened the box for the Namekian children to see. "My motorcycle can get us out of trouble in lightning-speed mode, should we encounter trouble along the way."

"Stored? Are you saying you can store big things in a tiny space that those bottles have?" Cargo was intrigued. "That's impossible!"

"With a brilliant scientist and inventor at your side, anything's possible," Bulma began to smile. "Come on," she then held their shoulders. "Trust me on this. We'll just fix our ship, store it in one of these empty capsules, and then make our way back here, okay?"

Cargo and Dende looked at each other for a moment. They would just have to trust in Bulma on this then.

Bulma began to make preparations. "Let's hurry up," she then glanced out of the window as she thought about her friend, Goku. _"And Goku, I don't know if you're here yet or not, but whatever happens, I'm counting on you!"_

Burter and Jeice were busy launching energy blasts and engaging the Saiyans in a fearsome blows crash. They were using everything they can at their disposal, but the Saiyans were not letting down at all. At the end, Goku sent a fearless punch to Burter's face, throwing him off to the skies while Bardock and Raditz teamed up to knee-strike Jeice straight to his abdomen, which almost shattered his armor.

Jeice wiped the purple blood from his lips. He growled even more. His eyes shifted towards King Cold who was looking the other way, his mind still thinking of other things. It seemed like he was only waiting for them to die. Jeice had never felt so nervous in his life.

"Hey, Jeice!" Burter called him.

Jeice looked at his comrade. "Huh?"

"If these low-leveled soldiers want to play around like this, it's about time we end their little game. It's time for the Purple Spiral Flash Attack," Burter declared.

Jeice liked the sound of that. "The Purple Spiral Flash, huh? Right, Burter, let's do it. Now."

Goku, Raditz, and Bardock went to their fighting stances once more.

Burter charged up, his sapphire-colored aura turning into a sphere and then, surrounded him. Jeice powered up also, his crimson aura enclosing his entire body. After they collected the energy they needed, Jeice and Burter then collided with each other, forming a roaring tornado. They spun continuously and released numerous purple disks at the Saiyans, intending to slice them in half.

Goku yelled with force as he made a huge force field, guarding him and his family from the incoming disks. Their attacks were instantly canceled from Goku's remarkable defense. Bardock and Raditz then countered by firing energy waves from their palms.

Jeice and Burter were stopped, fazed by their attacks. They breathed heavily, the pain stinging them, but they were too stubborn to give up.

"We didn't even touch any of them!" Jeice snarled. He bent his arms and legs as he gathered energy again. "You'll-you'll pay for this. No one messes with the mighty Ginyu Force!"

He raised his left hand, his stance as if he was the pitcher at a baseball game. On top of his hand, there emerged a hovering ball, dark red and filled with vigorous energy. It was spinning without end, gathering enough force that may inflict severe damage.

"Crusher Ball!" Jeice pitched it towards the three Saiyans.

Burter smirked a bit. "Hah, hah, there's no way they can get away with this one. They have no choice but to dodge it!"

Yet, it was completely the exact opposite of what they thought of. Goku instead deflected the Crusher Ball with his own arm, steering it to the background instead. It soon disappeared in the skies.

"No! How could he-?!" Jeice could not believe this was happening to them.

Burter had to check with his scouter and realized that their power levels were still constantly low. He had a feeling that the Saiyans were truly hiding most of their potential.

"I have no time to play catch with you," Goku told Jeice. He then turned around, but realized Bardock looked a bit panicked, his body swayed to the side as if he just evaded something.

"Oh! Dad, is something wrong?" he sheepishly smiled, pretending that he did not know.

"What are you doing? You nearly hit me, Kakarot," Bardock growled.

"Oh, heh, heh, sorry," Goku said while looking at his arm. "Man, I should've looked where I was deflecting that-OW!"

Instead, Bardock smacked him on the head and Goku had to rub his cranium to ease the pain.

"Ay, ay, ay, that kinda hurt. I'm really sorry, Dad!" Goku apologized again.

Raditz only raised his eyebrows, his lips pulling to a half-smile.

Burter saw how the Saiyans were not taking this fight seriously at all. It was apparent they were getting bored, which only meant that he and Jeice were weak to them. He despised this thought, however, and he will prove that he was still strong and still the fastest warrior in the universe.

Burter almost lost control of himself and decided to head towards the Saiyans himself. The three sensed him approaching fast, but they reacted faster than him and they ended up exchanging shots. Shockwaves were trembling, generating force from their attacks with the thumping sound of firecrackers. Unfortunately, Burter missed his punch, his fist hitting the air instead. Goku then tripped him while Raditz dashed towards the so-called "fastest warrior in the universe" and gave a swift sidekick to his back, breaking his armor this time and making him crash towards Jeice.

Jeice and Burter fell hard on the floor, shooting rocks everywhere. They struggled to get up from this impact.

"Get off of me, you stupid bloke!" Jeice demanded from his comrade.

Soon, they were back on their feet, but they almost lost their balance.

Burter panted. "No, this can't be happening. How could they anticipate my attacks? No one's that fast!"

"Aah! Behind you!" warned Jeice.

Burter turned around and already, Goku was standing behind him. Goku heard every word he said. "Well, apparently, I'm also fast," he remarked.

Jeice also noticed that Bardock was standing a few feet behind him and Raditz was still floating in the skies, keeping his eyes on them.

"Who-who are you?" Burter felt he had to ask the "mystery man."

"My name is Goku," Goku answered and his hands curled into proud fists. "I'm a Saiyan…from Earth."

"Saiyans…I fought every Saiyan in this entire galaxy and none of them is faster than me!" Burter denied the truth still.

"…until now," Bardock told him.

Burter lost control again and went for a flurry of rapid punches and kicks to Goku. Goku seemed to be making a mockery out of him as he was evading every single attack without letting himself get hit. Jeice tried to pitch in to help, but Bardock teleported in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going?" he intimidated him.

This was the last straw for Jeice. He gave a battle yell and he had no choice but to fight Bardock one-on-one. They kept their skirmish on the ground. Like Goku, Bardock was holding back on his punches. He avoided his every move as he aimed to tire Jeice out.

"Gotta keep going!" Burter told himself. "You're gonna screw up some time!"

"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that," Goku heard him.

Burter made his last punch the strongest, but Goku leaped away and re-surfaced behind him. He lifted his right foot and as quick as he can, did a sidekick to his already-damaged armor. Burter was brought to his knees, but he still persisted to take Goku down. He tried again while Goku was back to dodging his moves once more. To him, this was not even a battle anymore. It was more like his daily exercise.

From above, Raditz watched his family and the rest of the Ginyu Force clash at one another. He began to raise both of his arms, energy pulsating and beating from both of his hands. Visible rays flickered and danced around his fingertips as he prepared to make his Double Sunday happen. He kept vigilant eyes, waiting for that perfect time to execute his attack without flaws.

Meanwhile, Bulma was making her way towards the spaceship. She was riding on her white motorcycle with the Capsule Corp logo painted on the side. Cargo and Dende were with her and strapped in safely. Bulma was hurrying to get to the ship, hoping that it was still there where they had left it.

"So…this is what you call a 'motorcycle'?" asked Dende. He was holding onto Bulma tightly for he was afraid he might fall off.

"I've never seen anything like it," Cargo said who was at the back and holding onto his brother.

"Mmm-hmm," Bulma nodded. "At this rate, we'll get to our ship in no time. Hang tight!"

She accelerated more, leaving trails of dust behind.

Out in the open skies, Nail was picking up a faint energy from afar. It was subtle, but he had no doubts that it was filled with malice as well. He also felt it was coming towards his path.

"It's still far, but it's definitely an enemy," Nail said in a soft voice. "It must be Frieza."

Nail's aura burst as he flew faster than before.

Frieza with his two armed medics were also traveling as fast as they can to get to Guru's house.

" _I will get my wish. I will get my wish!"_ Frieza screamed. _"And when I do, it'll be the last time these worthless Namekians see this face before I eradicate them all. And then, the entire universe will be mine. No one can stop me."_

He left with a malicious grin on his face. All this tension, pressure, challenges to his authority, they could only fuel his appetite to achieve his immortality.


End file.
